Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Urgent action is needed to stop floods damaging our education
HADIZA ,15, and MUSTAPHA, 15, in Yobe State
By
FLOODS have become one of the biggest threats to children’s education in northern Nigeria.
Our investigation revealed the schooling of about 250 children is affected by the floods every year in our small town in Yobe State.
Youngsters under 12 are impacted the most, with many unable to attend school as flood water cuts off the main roads and families are too afraid to leave their homes.
Earlier this year the damage from a storm was so severe it destroyed more than 50 buildings in a major city of Yobe State and 11 residents had to be rescued from the debris.
One sadly died and the others sustained serious injuries.
Residents described it as frightening but also explained why the storms are getting worse.
“This storm has a lot to do with the destruction of our forests, which contributes to climate change,” one said.
“If you travel to some parts of
Nigeria where you have thick forests with abundant trees, they don’t experience this kind of thunderstorm in their wet seasons.”
Another added: “It takes us up to two weeks or more waiting for the floods to subside. During that period, schoolteachers
THE Mirror’s Nextgen International project was working with six teenagers in Afghanistan with our charity partner Save the Children.
But midway through the project in August, Kabul fell to the Taliban and it was no longer safe for the young people to continue.
Afghanistan was chosen because it is one of the countries most affected by climate change in the world. Over the last 20 years flooding and droughts have plagued Afghans. More do not come. The children attending school from the affected areas could not come to school until the water had retreated.
“The chief of our community and the elders have repeatedly teamed up to complain to the public authorities in search of solutions, but to no avail.”
Some of the residents we spoke to said they have advised the
Yobe State government and humanitarian organisations to look into the problem urgently.
They want the government to build a big bridge and construct standard water channels to direct the flood water and bring huge relief to the region.
Residents also want more trees to be planted to create a natural defence barrier.
“Trees should be planted and a law should be enacted against the felling of trees, to curtail the problem of deforestation,” one said.
In 2020, flooding affected
2.7 million people across West and Central Africa, compared to
1.1 million in 2019.
Flooding often kills animals and destroys crops, threatening the 70% of Nigeria’s population who rely on agriculture for income.
It also increases the incidences of diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea. than 80% of the population are farmers, but their agriculture is being destroyed by extreme weather and natural disasters.
Today, one in three Afghans are facing food shortages and the situation is expected to worsen under the Taliban regime.
It is regrettable the project was halted but the safety of the young people was paramount. The project is also working in the Solomon Islands, Nicaragua, Nepal, Brazil and Mongolia.