Hello Venturer,A few weeks ago, I had a situation at my house. A heavy downpour lasted through the night. And when I woke up, my apartment had water flowing up to ankle level. The rain had caused water to start gushing out from the floor. It was a terrible thing to see my belongings floating in the water. But I learned a couple of things from that experience. One: getting a house in Lagos is not for the weak; you must be extra vigilant. Two: disasters can happen, and to prevent a reoccurrence, I would have to deal with the root of the problem.In 2012, Nigeria had a similar experience when Cameroon opened its Lagdo dam. That caused flooding in several states in Nigeria. There were stories of dangerous animals getting into people's homes, countless properties destroyed, and millions of lives lost. That experience is what people used to remember as the worst flood in Nigeria. But not anymore. A few weeks ago, Cameroon opened the dam again. And guess what? Nigeria is flooded again! This time, with worse outcomes.Now let's dial it back a bit. When the Lagdo dam was built in 1977, Nigeria and Cameroon signed an agreement for Nigeria to make a counter dam called the Dasin Hausa Dam. The second dam was to receive water whenever the Lagdo dam was opened. Fast forward to over 4 decades and one terrible flooding experience later, Nigeria has not learned its lesson. Unabashedly, the leaders have hidden behind the climate crisis as the cause of this year's flood. Sadly, over a million Nigerians have nothing to hide behind as they bear the brunt of the country's irresponsible actions. The people in Noah's story no do pass this one. This week, we explore Nigeria's flooding situation in more ways than one.Orufa SuotunimiStaff writer, Ventures Africa.
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Flood chronicles 🌊
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Hello Venturer,A few weeks ago, I had a situation at my house. A heavy downpour lasted through the night. And when I woke up, my apartment had water flowing up to ankle level. The rain had caused water to start gushing out from the floor. It was a terrible thing to see my belongings floating in the water. But I learned a couple of things from that experience. One: getting a house in Lagos is not for the weak; you must be extra vigilant. Two: disasters can happen, and to prevent a reoccurrence, I would have to deal with the root of the problem.In 2012, Nigeria had a similar experience when Cameroon opened its Lagdo dam. That caused flooding in several states in Nigeria. There were stories of dangerous animals getting into people's homes, countless properties destroyed, and millions of lives lost. That experience is what people used to remember as the worst flood in Nigeria. But not anymore. A few weeks ago, Cameroon opened the dam again. And guess what? Nigeria is flooded again! This time, with worse outcomes.Now let's dial it back a bit. When the Lagdo dam was built in 1977, Nigeria and Cameroon signed an agreement for Nigeria to make a counter dam called the Dasin Hausa Dam. The second dam was to receive water whenever the Lagdo dam was opened. Fast forward to over 4 decades and one terrible flooding experience later, Nigeria has not learned its lesson. Unabashedly, the leaders have hidden behind the climate crisis as the cause of this year's flood. Sadly, over a million Nigerians have nothing to hide behind as they bear the brunt of the country's irresponsible actions. The people in Noah's story no do pass this one. This week, we explore Nigeria's flooding situation in more ways than one.Orufa SuotunimiStaff writer, Ventures Africa.