What If A Major Disaster Strikes Here? -By IfeanyiChukwu Afuba

The reality of life, earthly life, is that there’s death at some point. Wise men and women put that before them and strive towards purposeful life. The reality of living is that there will be ups and downs; successes and reversals; slips and the unforseen. And as it is in the journey of individuals, so it is in the life of societies, nations, communities. The interruption of normalcy in the natural rhythms of a people can come suddenly, sometimes as a single hand of disorder, sometimes in double – barrelled, even multi dimensional phenomena. Disruptive occurrences may be short – lived or long – drawn. Their negative impact, may be restricted to material damage. But often, there are also human and environmental losses. Nigeria has mercifully been spared of any major natural disaster in her history. It would be escapist to think that Nigeria’s territory will always be unaffected by the wrath of environmental forces. Are we prepared for such a scenario?

A cursory look at the global scene points towards a widening scale of tragedies; some of natural factors, others of human cause. From forest wildfires to volcanic eruptions; from earthquakes to tsunamis; from floodings to mudslides; from agricultural harvest failure to epidemics, the line of devastating occurrences that can afflict a state is long. In the past two decades especially the United States has been plagued with ferocious wildfires. Their scale and intensity are such that often invite declaration of emergency to effectively combat them. Yet, the ease and frequency of their recurrence underline the complicated nature of the problem. On a few occasions, authorities had arrested some suspects on suspicion of deliberately starting the fires. But climate change, manifested in hotter temperatures, has been cited as a major cause. In recent years, Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal and France have also suffered the scourge of wildfires. Driven by strong winds and dry weather, the destruction the flames leave in their trail are better imagined than experienced. Sometimes, firefighters end up among the casualties. Those who survive have to bear the reality of destroyed homes and vegetation. And the trauma of the experience as well. It’s pretty much the same with other forms of disaster.

High casualty figures from these worldwide tragedies seem to have become common. The ugly trend however, serves as constant reminder to the potential consequences of these events as well as the huge task involved in both averting and managing them.
In 1997, a devastating earthquake rocked Iran, leaving over four thousand dead. The December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was unprecedented, wreaking havoc simultaneously in Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka. At the final tally, the death toll stood at two hundred and twenty – seven thousand. As at Tuesday, September 2, 2025, the dead from Afghanistan’s earthquake a day earlier had reached one thousand, one hundred, with many still missing and unaccounted for. And still on the same day, over one thousand persons perished in a landslide in Darfur, Sudan.

Prediction of earthquakes and volcanoes might be possible in certain circumstances but ensuring the attendant safety situation remains a challenging assignment. Deployment and use of emergency machinery in life – threatening situations is not an easy undertaking. But aside physical competence in technology and skills, the role of system functionality is very important. Organisational readiness is critical and with it, group motivation. Scenes from the ongoing war in Gaza illustrate this point. Amidst a blockade of goods and essential supplies, Gaza’s emergency services is still strong. More often than not, the ambulances are available to evacuate the dead and injured. And you can’t fail to notice the wholehearted spirit with which the population lends hands to salvage bad situations. This solidarity has made the difference in surviving the perils of war.

Nigeria has been spared the misfortune of such disasters so far. To assume it would never happen here would border on superstition. The closest we had gotten to such emergency would be the crude violence of Boko Haram and other fundamentalist groups operating in the country. Nigeria’s sectarian terrorism is man – made, with the intention of grabbing territory for establishment of extremist theocratic state. The job of containing the Islamic insurgents is basically a military one so we would rather be concerned with the state of our internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. As a temporary accommodation for those affected by disruption of social peace, these camps have been very badly run. An aggregation of assessments of the camps is negative. They generally
suffer from poorly constructed structures, low hygienic conditions, inadequate food and healthcare, underfunding, and corruption. The unhospitable atmosphere leaves the inmates vulnerable to exploitation including sexual abuse. The experience with IDP camps provides lessons for the future.

Two major challenges stand before Nigeria in the event of a natural or man – made disaster. The first is about infrastructure capacity. Do we have the machinery and equipment for effective intervention? Watching footage of fire – combating aircraft in action in Europe, the question, what would be our fate if wildfires engulf our forests, pops up. Do we have some of such stuff? I am not sure if the National Emergency Management Agency has helicopters, not to talk of the state bodies. Considering that many of our communities still lack asphalted roads, how would rescue teams reach those in the interior? Do our emergency agencies have cranes, bulldozers, jack systems and ground penetrating radar for detection of people trapped beneath concrete? Appeal for external assistance should not be the first resort. Any serious state should be seen to have taken the initiative in confronting a calamity before seeking outside help. What about our fire services? Are they equipped with functional vehicles and modern accessories? Public water supply is still a luxury even in state capitals. How then can the fire departments rise to the occasion when their service is needed? Conscious efforts should be made to bring our emergency bodies to a level of preparedness. The task of boosting their capacity through provision of machinery and regular trainings ought to start immediately.

Our second challenge with managing a crisis situation has to do with a system that often does not work. Service delivery is a major deficiency of government institutions. When the system manages to function, it doesn’t work optimally. It’s both a collective failing of work ethics and leadership at all levels. Dedication to duty is few and far between. We can’t seem to get it right either by sanction of the law or the power of moral/ religious persuasion. The plain reality however, is that disaster management is a schedule that demands going the extra mile. It may not be out of place to approve enhanced, special remuneration for emergency services personnel. We must seek ways to make the public estate work.