02/11/22

Poor dam management escalating floods in Nigeria

Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. Copyright: Samuel Ayenajeh, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

We encourage you to republish this article online and in print, it’s free under our creative commons attribution license, but please follow some simple guidelines:

You have to credit our authors.
You have to credit SciDev.Net — where possible include our logo with a link back to the original article.
You can simply run the first few lines of the article and then add: “Read the full article on SciDev.Net” containing a link back to the original article.
If you want to also take images published in this story you will need to confirm with the original source if you're licensed to use them.
The easiest way to get the article on your site is to embed the code below.

For more information view our media page and republishing guidelines.

The full article is available here as HTML.

Press Ctrl-C to copy

<div class="article-wrap">
<div id="article-introduction">
<h1>Poor dam management escalating floods in Nigeria</h1>
<h4></h4>
</div>
<br />
<br />

<div id="article-body">
<div id="buzzsprout-player-11615999"></div>
<p><script src="https://www.buzzsprout.com/1257893/11615999-poor-dam-management-escalating-floods-in-nigeria.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-11615999&player=small" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script><a style="display: inline-block; background-color: #000000; background-image:inherit; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid #000000; border-radius: 5px; margin: 0 5px 5px 0; text-indent: -9000px; background-position: 10px 7px; height: 40px; width: 165px;" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/africa-science-focus/id1526509178?uo=4" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-bg-image="url('https://www.buzzsprout.com/images/badges/listen-on-embed.svg')" class="lazyload">Listen on Apple Podcasts</a><a style="display: inline-block; background-color: #000000; background-image:inherit; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid #000000; border-radius: 5px; margin: 0 5px 5px 0; text-indent: -9000px; background-position: 10px -53px; height: 40px; width: 106px;" href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2m6poWeZPx2F1KeKHxXph9" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-bg-image="url('https://www.buzzsprout.com/images/badges/listen-on-embed.svg')" class="lazyload">Listen on Spotify</a><a style="display: inline-block; background-color: #000000; background-image:inherit; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid #000000; border-radius: 5px; margin: 0 5px 5px 0; text-indent: -9000px; background-position: 10px -113px; height: 40px; width: 165px;" href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xMjU3ODkzLnJzcw==" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-bg-image="url('https://www.buzzsprout.com/images/badges/listen-on-embed.svg')" class="lazyload">Listen on Google Podcasts</a><a style="display: inline-block; background-color: #000000; background-image:inherit; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid #000000; border-radius: 5px; margin: 0 5px 5px 0; text-indent: -9000px; background-position: 10px -173px; height: 40px; width: 111px;" href="https://www.stitcher.com/show/africa-science-focus" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-bg-image="url('https://www.buzzsprout.com/images/badges/listen-on-embed.svg')" class="lazyload">Listen on Stitcher</a><a style="display: inline-block; background-color: #000000; background-image:inherit; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid #000000; border-radius: 5px; margin: 0 5px 5px 0; text-indent: -9000px; background-position: 10px -233px; height: 40px; width: 120px;" href="https://overcast.fm/login" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-bg-image="url('https://www.buzzsprout.com/images/badges/listen-on-embed.svg')" class="lazyload">Listen on Overcast</a><a style="display: inline-block; background-color: #000000; background-image:inherit; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid #000000; border-radius: 5px; margin: 0 5px 5px 0; text-indent: -9000px; background-position: 10px -293px; height: 40px; width: 162px;" href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/84c899ed-bc56-45ef-9a82-e31d8270daa8/AFRICA-SCIENCE-FOCUS" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-bg-image="url('https://www.buzzsprout.com/images/badges/listen-on-embed.svg')" class="lazyload">Listen on Amazon Music</a><a style="display: inline-block; background-color: #000000; background-image:inherit; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid #000000; border-radius: 5px; margin: 0 5px 5px 0; text-indent: -9000px; background-position: 10px -353px; height: 40px; width: 120px;" href="https://castbox.fm/channel/id3207143?utm_campaign=ex_share_ch&utm_medium=exlink&country=gb" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-bg-image="url('https://www.buzzsprout.com/images/badges/listen-on-embed.svg')" class="lazyload">Listen on Castbox</a><a style="display: inline-block; background-color: #000000; background-image:inherit; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid #000000; border-radius: 5px; margin: 0 5px 5px 0; text-indent: -9000px; background-position: 10px -413px; height: 40px; width: 162px;" href="https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/3063514" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-bg-image="url('https://www.buzzsprout.com/images/badges/listen-on-embed.svg')" class="lazyload">Listen on Podcast Addict</a><a style="display: inline-block; background-color: #000000; background-image:inherit; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid #000000; border-radius: 5px; margin: 0 5px 5px 0; text-indent: -9000px; background-position: 10px -473px; height: 40px; width: 150px;" href="https://pca.st/ku8esadk" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-bg-image="url('https://www.buzzsprout.com/images/badges/listen-on-embed.svg')" class="lazyload">Listen on Pocket Casts</a><a style="display: inline-block; background-color: #000000; background-image:inherit; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid #000000; border-radius: 5px; margin: 0 5px 5px 0; text-indent: -9000px; background-position: 10px -533px; height: 40px; width: 140px;" href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-africa-science-focus-71518179/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-bg-image="url('https://www.buzzsprout.com/images/badges/listen-on-embed.svg')" class="lazyload">Listen on iHeartRadio</a><a style="display: inline-block; background-color: #000000; background-image:inherit; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid #000000; border-radius: 5px; margin: 0 5px 5px 0; text-indent: -9000px; background-position: 10px -593px; height: 40px; width: 115px;" href="https://www.pandora.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-bg-image="url('https://www.buzzsprout.com/images/badges/listen-on-embed.svg')" class="lazyload">Listen on Pandora</a><a style="display: inline-block; background-color: #000000; background-image:inherit; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 1px solid #000000; border-radius: 5px; margin: 0 5px 5px 0; text-indent: -9000px; background-position: 10px -653px; height: 40px; width: 121px;" href="https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1257893.rss" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-bg-image="url('https://www.buzzsprout.com/images/badges/listen-on-embed.svg')" class="lazyload">RSS Feed</a></p>
<hr />
<h3>Season 3, Episode 29</h3>
<p>Nigeria is facing its worst flooding in a decade with buildings and infrastructure submerged and lives and livelihoods lost. While climate change does play a role, poor infrastructure and poor preparation have intensified the situation.</p>
<p>In this episode of Africa Science Focus, we get the backstory from Professor Nelson Odume, acting director of the Institute for Water Research at Rhodes University, South Africa. Philip Jakpor, the director of programmes at Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, a social action organisation, puts the blame on poor dam management. And Alagoa Morris – flood victim, environmentalist and the head of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, in Bayelsa state Nigeria – tells us what it is like to live through the flood.<br />
<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/22GZRHL"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-69335 lazyload" data-src="https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/ASF_Survey_banners_In-article.jpg" alt="" width="996" height="100" data-srcset="https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/ASF_Survey_banners_In-article.jpg 996w, https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/ASF_Survey_banners_In-article-768x77.jpg 768w" data-sizes="(max-width: 996px) 100vw, 996px" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" style="--smush-placeholder-width: 996px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 996/100;" /><noscript><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-69335 lazyload" data-src="https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/ASF_Survey_banners_In-article.jpg" alt="" width="996" height="100" data-srcset="https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/ASF_Survey_banners_In-article.jpg 996w, https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/ASF_Survey_banners_In-article-768x77.jpg 768w" data-sizes="(max-width: 996px) 100vw, 996px" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" style="--smush-placeholder-width: 996px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 996/100;" /><noscript><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-69335" src="https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/ASF_Survey_banners_In-article.jpg" alt="" width="996" height="100" srcset="https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/ASF_Survey_banners_In-article.jpg 996w, https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/ASF_Survey_banners_In-article-768x77.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 996px) 100vw, 996px" /></noscript></noscript></a></p>
<p><em>This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.</em></p>

</div>
<div class="quick-links-wrapper">
<h3>You might also like</h3>
[related-articles]
</div>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/podcast/poor-dam-management-escalating-floods-in-nigeria/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(e,t,n,r,i,s,o){e["GoogleAnalyticsObject"]=i;e[i]=e[i]||function(){(e[i].q=e[i].q||[]).push(arguments)},e[i].l=1*new Date;s=t.createElement(n),o=t.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];s.async=1;s.src=r;o.parentNode.insertBefore(s,o)})(window,document,"script","//www.google-analytics.com/ga.js","ga");var _gaq=_gaq||[];var _gaq=_gaq||[];_gaq.push(["_setAccount","UA-3223906-8"],["_trackEvent","article interaction","republished","https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/podcast/poor-dam-management-escalating-floods-in-nigeria/",null,true])
</script>
</div>

Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Google Podcasts Listen on Stitcher Listen on Overcast Listen on Amazon Music Listen on Castbox Listen on Podcast Addict Listen on Pocket Casts Listen on iHeartRadio Listen on Pandora RSS Feed

Season 3, Episode 29

Nigeria is facing its worst flooding in a decade with buildings and infrastructure submerged and lives and livelihoods lost. While climate change does play a role, poor infrastructure and poor preparation have intensified the situation.

In this episode of Africa Science Focus, we get the backstory from Professor Nelson Odume, acting director of the Institute for Water Research at Rhodes University, South Africa. Philip Jakpor, the director of programmes at Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, a social action organisation, puts the blame on poor dam management. And Alagoa Morris – flood victim, environmentalist and the head of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, in Bayelsa state Nigeria – tells us what it is like to live through the flood.