1.0 Background and Overview
1.1 Information on Nigeria
Nigeria is a country with a landed area of about 923,768 sq km (356,669 sq miles). It has diverse climate and terrain, which ranges from the equatorial climate of the southern lowlands, through the tropical central hills and plateau, to the arid northern plains which mark the southernmost extent of the Sahara desert.
Two Major rivers run through Nigeria –Niger and Benue. The River Niger flows from the northwest through the country to its vast delta in the south, while River Benue has its source from the Cameroon Mountains and flows into the country from the east joining River Niger at Lokoja in Kogi State. Nigeria has borders with Niger to the North, Chad (across Lake Chad) to the Northeast, Cameroon to the East and Benin to the West. It is indented in the South by the Gulf of Guinea.
Nigeria is Africa's most populous country. It has an official population of 140, 431,790 [Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette, 2nd February, 2009]. It is divided into 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs). Nigeria has over 250 ethnic groups, with English as the official language and three major indigenous languages (Yoruba, Ibo and Hausa).
Nigeria has rich natural resources that include oil and gas and solid minerals, with about 70% of the population engaged in agriculture.
1.2 Disasters in Nigeria
Nigeria, like the rest of the world, is exposed to a wide range of natural or human-induced disasters. While some of these disasters are rapid, others are slow-onset, resulting in catastrophic situations leading to loss of lives and property, degradation of environment. These disasters occur in form of drought, desertification, flooding, epidemics, coastal erosion, dam failure, building collapse, oil spillage, maritime collision or accident, bomb explosion, communal clash, fire, air crashes and boat mishap, amongst others.
Historically, salient disasters in Nigeria include the yearly epidemics such as cholera, measles and cerebro-spinal meningitis. There were droughts in the Sudan-Sahel zone of the country in 1972-74 and 1982-84. There were flood disasters in Ogunpa (Oyo State) in 1982, Lagos Bar Beach in 2001, Shiroro and Kaduna in 2003, Gombe in 2004, Jalingo in 2005, e.t.c. Others include, the 2008 landslide in Agwu LGA (Enugu state); and 2005, 2006 and 2009 landslide in Agwagune (Cross River State). Also, Nigeria experienced numerous ethnic, political and religious violent conflicts in Kaduna, Lagos, Kano, Plateau, Bauchi, Borno, Taraba, Benue, Delta, Anambra, Ondo, Osun, Ogun e.t.c.
In addition, there were technological disasters ranging from, the 2002 Ikeja bomb explosion (Lagos State); the 2002 West African Rubber Product Company fire in Ikorodu (Lagos State); the 1992 Hercules C-130 military air-crash at Itokin (Lagos State); the 2002 ADC air-crash at Ejirin (Lagos State); the EAS air-crash in Kano State; the 2005 Bellview air-crash in Lisa village (Ogun State); the 2005 Sosoliso aircrash in Portharcourt (Rivers State); the ADC aircrash in Abuja. Other technological disasters include the several pipeline explosions and vandalization in the Niger Delta, and series of road traffic crashes among others.
Beyond these events, threats posed by frequent oil spills and irreparable damage to environmental and coastal biospheres, increasing levels of industrial pollution, waste and unprecedented climatic changes, and its negative consequences make Nigerians to be increasingly at risk to a wide number of new and emerging hazards.
The vulnerability of Nigerians to hazards is a function of several factors. These include, the level of poverty; population growth and distribution; and the condition of human settlements and their infrastructure. Other causative factors include the level of environmental degradation, level of public awareness, the dynamics of public policy and environment on disaster management.
1.3 History of Disaster Management in Nigeria
Organized Disaster Management in Nigeria can be dated back to 1906 when the Fire Brigade was established with functions that went beyond fire fighting to the saving of lives and property and provision of humanitarian services during emergencies. In the 1960s and 70s, this noble and systematic approach was replaced with ad-hoc arrangements domiciled in the offices of the Head of State and the Sate Governors. During this period disaster response was considered as mere security issues.
In 1972/1973, Nigeria experienced a devastating drought which had negative socio-economic consequences and cost the nation the loss of many lives and property. This event amongst others led to the establishment of the National Emergency Relief Agency (NERA) in 1976 with the mandate of collecting and distributing relief materials to disaster victims.
An Inter-Ministerial body was set up by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) in 1990 to address natural disaster reduction strategies in line with the UN International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) and to addreess the limited scope of NERA. In 1993, the FGN decided to expand the scope of managing disasters to include all areas of disasters. This bold approach was backed up by decree 119 of 1993 which raised the status of the Agency to an Independent body under the Presidency
In 1997, the management of NERA organized a National Workshop involving major stakeholders in disaster management in Nigeria to deliberate on critical factors for an effective disaster management system in Nigeria, and noted the need to:
i) Expand the functions of NERA, amend the decree setting up NERA and change its name to National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
ii) Structure the new Agency by putting into consideration appropriate Policies and Strategies; Search and Rescue resource mobilization capabilities; Information, Education and Prevention strategies; Administration, Finance and Logistics systems; Relief and Rehabilitation capabilities; Research and Planning.
iii) provide appropriate budgetary allocation for the operations of the Agency.
The acceptance of these recommendations by the FGN led to the establishment of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in March 1999 by Act 12 of 1999 as amended by Act 50 of 1999 to manage disasters in all its ramifications.
In fulfilling its mandate, NEMA developed several plans and guidelines, some of these are National Disaster Response Plan, the Search and Rescue/Epidemic Evacuation Plan, the National Nuclear and Radiological Plan, the Early Warning System on Epidemic e.t.c. Over the years NEMA has encountered some challenges and learnt lessons in the implementation of the plans. This necessitated the development of the NDMF to correct implementation gaps and increase efficiency and effectiveness of disaster management in Nigeria.