By Hamza Suleiman
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Thursday donated 400 metric tones of food items to persons affected by flood and other human induced disaster in Borno.NEMA’s Director-General, Alhaji Mustapha Ahmed stated this while presenting the items to Hajiya Yabawa Kolo, Chairperson, Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in Maiduguri.
Represented by Muhammad Kanar, NEMA’s Deputy Director, Human Resources, Ahmed said President Muhammadu Buhari approved the donation to cushion the effects of the disaster on the victims.He said the gesture was meant to assist the victims towards alleviating their sufferings, as the Agency could not compensate the traumatic experience of persons affected by the disaster.He listed the items to include 1,000 bags of 10kg rice; 1,000 bags of 10kg beans; 1,000 bags of 10kg maize; 75 bags of salt; 75 kegs of vegetable oil; 150 cartons of seasoning; 75 cartons of tomato paste and 7,350 pieces of mats.Others are 1,000 pieces of treated nets; 600 cartons of soap; 2,500 pieces of textile materials; 1,000 pieces of children’s wear; 1,000 pieces of women wear, among others.The NEMA boss said the Agency had been inundated with flood disaster reports in more than 450 local government areas across the 36 states and the FCT, causing lost of lives, livelihood, property and infrastructure.Ahmed said the recent flood disaster recorded in the country called for proactive measures to substantially reduce disaster risk, loss of lives and livelihoods.“This is in line with the global aspiration as contained in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.“To be able to achieve this, we need to have a better understanding of flood disaster risk, by looking deeply into the previous disasters.“A deeper questioning of what happened, why, and how to prevent a repetition.“Strengthen SEMA and establishment of Local Government Emergency Management Committees to manage disaster risk.“Listen and take full advantage of early warning alerts from National Metrological Service Agency (NiMET) and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and ensure that new infrastructure does not introduce new risk.“Locating infrastructure out of harm’s way is one way to achieve this. Have the political will to invest in disaster risk reduction activities through adequate budget appropriations in lieu to the National Flood Response Plan that was recently approved by the Federal Government,” he said.Responding, Kolo commended the President for identifying with the victims in their time of need.She said the flood displaced 37,000 households and destroyed 67,000 farmlands in 14 LGAs of the state, adding the gesture would cushion the effects of the disaster on the affected persons. (NAN)
