Mr Chijoke Urama, an environmentalist, has called on Nigerians to cultivate the habit of keeping drains around their homes and offices clean to reduce the incidence of the flood in the country.
Urama, who retired from Federal Ministry of Environment, made this call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Nsukka on Saturday.
He said that dumping of refuse in gutters and building structures on water channels were major causes of flooding in some areas that had claimed lives, property and rendered thousands of people homeless
“The flood that has claimed lives, destroyed property and rendered thousands of people homeless in some places because some residents are not environmental friendly.
“It’s a very bad habit that some residents in urban areas use gutters around them as refuse dump thereby blocking the drainage system, which will result in heavy flooding during rainy season.
“Some people, who believed they have money and nobody can stop them, built on waters channels thereby blocking free water flow and causing problems for other people,” he said.
He also decried a situation in the country where some people wait for the government to do everything for them, urging such Nigerians in this habit to turn a new leaf.
“Government will build roads and provide drainage, you still wait for the government to come every day to clean it for you, is not proper,” he said.
The environmentalists urged the Federal Government to establish environmental marshals in all local governments that would monitor drainage and water channels as well as arrest culprits on environmental laws.
“With environmental marshals established in every local government it will help stop people from throwing refuse in gutters and go a long way in reducing the effect of flood in the country during rainy season.
“Government should demolished all structures built on water channels across the country no matter who owns them.
“Government should also stop people from indiscriminate felling of trees so as to protect our environment and reduce the effect of flood in future,” he said.(NAN)
