By Aideloje Ojo
Minna
A lecturer with the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Lapai (IBBUL) Professor Sheikh Danjuma Abubakar has implored the Federal Government to construct more River Basins to temporarily hold excess water during rainfaill as measures to mitigate perennial flooding disaster occurrences in the country.
Professor Abubakar stated this in an inaugural lecture delivered at the university’s main campus in Lapai on Wednesday.
The university don identified lack of good rivers-human relationship and poor management of rivers as leading factors responsible for violent reactions of rivers which are hazardous to human livelihood in Nigeria and globally.
According to him, ” Government should should provide access to difficult areas to address hard to reach locations vulnerable to floods. It should also construct detention basins to temporarily hold excess water during heavy rainfall”.
In the lecture titled “Social Relations of Rivers and Smart Sustainable River Management: A Serendipitous Journey of A Fluvial Geomorphologist ” Professor Abubakar stressed the need for proper waste management pointing out that this prevents obstructions in river channels.
He called on government to address the negative impact of development and deforestation in the society and initiate measures to reduce non-absorbent surfaces and encourage permeable surfaces for natural absorption.
He stressed the importance of preservation of greenery adding that trees and vegetation absorb rainwater, reduce runoff while deforestation disrupts this process. ” I therefore recommend the spacial planning to accommodate river water during floods. It involves broadening river channels, forming floodplains and repositioning infrastructure away from vulnerable areas “, he said.
He called for sustainable management of rivers by adopting universal declaration of the Rights of Rivers in the country adding that ” there is the need for a mindset change from exploitation of rivers to one of respect and caring management “.
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor Professor Mohammed Hadi Suleiman said that lecture has brought to light the fact that researches in areas of specialization can lead to geographicall , economic, health, social and political gains in the country especially in the area of climate change.
