When the water returns again, every rainy season in Nigeria tells a familiar story. When the skies darken and rivers begin to swell, millions of Nigerians hold their breath, waiting for what has become an annual nightmare.
In Kogi, Benue, and down to Bayelsa, families live with their bags half-packed, ready to flee at the first sign of danger. For them, the flood season is not just another weather event, rather a season of exile, a painful ritual of loss and uncertainty. The question is never “if disaster” will strike, but when.
Echoes of the 2022 Tragedy
The flood disaster of 2022 remains etched in national memory as one of the darkest moments in recent history. That year, floodwaters claimed more than 600 lives and displaced over 1.4 million people across Nigeria.
Farmlands disappeared beneath water, homes collapsed like paper, and dreams were washed away overnight. Roads were cut off, food became scarce, and diseases followed in the aftermath.
Even three years later, many communities have not fully recovered. The scars; physical, emotional, and economic remain visible in the faces of those who lost everything.
As the Nigerian Meteorological Agency “NIMet, and the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency” (NIHSA) issue fresh warnings for 2025, fear returns to the hearts of many.
Once again, riverine communities brace themselves for another possible round of destruction. But this time, there is a growing sense that things might be different, that Nigeria is slowly learning to act before tragedy, not after it.
NEMA’s New Focus
At the heart of this shift is the National Emergency Management Agency “NEMA”, which is working to redefine its role in the fight against disasters.
For years, “NEMA” was seen mostly as a responder of last resort, an agency that arrived with relief materials only after people had lost their homes, farms, and sometimes their loved ones. But under the leadership of its Director General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, the agency is turning that perception around.
“Emergency management must no longer be about sympathy after the tragedy,” Mrs. Umar insists. “It should be about preparedness that saves lives before the waters rise.”
That statement captures a new vision; one focused on foresight, prevention, and resilience. “NEMA” now collaborates more actively with other key institutions like “NiMet and NIHSA” to ensure that forecasts and dam release alerts are not just issued but acted upon.
Through community sensitisation, training, and simulations, the agency is bridging the critical gap between warning and response, a gap that has cost countless lives in the past.
The Scale of the Challenge
Nigeria’s geography makes flood control a daunting task. The mighty Niger and Benue rivers slice through states where millions depend on farming and fishing for survival.
When these rivers overflow, the impact is devastating. Urban areas are not spared either; poor drainage systems, blocked waterways, and unplanned settlements worsen the problem. In some cities, refuse-filled gutters turn simple rainfalls into major floods.
Then there’s climate change, the silent amplifier of disaster. Rainfall patterns have become unpredictable. The dry seasons are hotter, and the wet seasons are more violent.
What used to be occasional heavy rain now feels like a yearly punishment, with each storm seems to test the country’s readiness, and too often, the systems still fall short.
Stories from the Floodplains
In Lokoja, often called “the confluence of suffering during flood season” traders recount how their markets turned into vast lakes. “We woke up to find our stalls floating,” one trader said, describing the hopelessness of watching years of effort sink beneath brown water.
Fishermen, ironically, speak of “drowning in abundance” as they lose boats, nets, and even loved ones to the same waters that once gave them life.
In Borno, where conflict has already displaced thousands, the rains add another cruel twist. Families forced from their homes by insurgency found themselves homeless again when makeshift shelters were washed away.
Their situation reveals a harsh truth: in Nigeria, floods are not just environmental disasters, they are humanitarian crises that deepen existing vulnerabilities.
Building a Culture of Preparedness
Despite the overwhelming challenges, there are signs of progress, “NEMA” has strengthened its partnerships with state emergency agencies, the military, and organisations like the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (N-HYPPADEC).
The goal is to create a more coordinated response framework that extends beyond federal boundaries, indeed.
The agency has also made significant investments in early warning systems, that flood alerts are no longer confined to press releases in Abuja; they now reach community leaders, town criers, and local radio stations.
The idea is simple; when information travels faster, more lives can be saved.
But as Mrs. Umar often reminds stakeholders, the real victory will come when preparedness becomes a way of life. Farmers must learn to adjust their planting seasons based on forecasts.
Families must relocate from high-risk flood plains before it’s too late, while local leaders must treat disaster drills as seriously as security meetings, prevention, she says, must move from policy to culture.
The Long Road Ahead
Of course, transforming a system that has long been reactive will take time. Funding remains limited, and the scale of Nigeria’s vulnerability means no agency can do it alone.
Relief materials and emergency shelters will still be needed, but they cannot substitute long-term planning and investment in infrastructure.
What is crucial now is collaboration, between governments, local communities, private organisations, and citizens themselves. Everyone has a role to play in reducing the damage when the waters return.
Civic education, environmental discipline, and community-level planning must complement the efforts of national agencies in thesame vein.
From Despair to Resilience
As the 2025 flood alerts roll in, the challenge before Nigeria is clear: how do we turn early warnings into early action?
The old approach of waiting for disaster before moving is no longer sustainable, the time has come to prioritize proactive, people-centered strategies that prevent loss before it happens.
Floods will always come, the rains will always fall, but whether they remain a yearly tragedy or become a manageable threat depends on the nation’s choices today.
For “NEMA” and other stakeholders, the goal is no longer to respond to disaster, but to stand as a shield against it.
For the millions living in the shadow of swollen rivers, that shift could mean everything, the difference between despair and survival, between rebuilding from ruins and standing firm when the waters return again.
