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[OPINION] The Cry Of The Waters: When Flood Became A Funeral

Published

4 months ago

June 4, 2025

Editor

By Israel Adebiyi

In the days when the forest still spoke and rivers still held secrets, there was a tale the elders told of a stubborn village. This village, they said, was warned by the river goddess that heavy rains were coming. “Move to higher ground,” she whispered through the winds. But the people, confident in their mud huts and ancestral trees, scoffed. The rains came, and so did the water. Not as a blessing, but as a grave. By morning, the village was no more—only silence and soaked soil remained.

This is no longer folklore. This is Mokwa.

At the last count, over 200 lifeless bodies have been pulled from the fury of floodwaters in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State. Children, women, men—entire households swallowed by what should have been a predictable, preventable disaster. Homes have turned to ruins, schools into swamps, and churches into makeshift morgues. Thousands are now displaced, staring into an uncertain future, and the numbers—like the waters—keep rising.

Year after year, we watch this horror movie unfold, always with fresh cast members and a bloodier script. Yet, nothing seems to change.

The tragedy of Mokwa is not just about water. It is a portrait of systemic rot—of repeated failure across every level of governance. It is the failure of residents who, either out of ignorance or fatalistic resignation, ignore flood alerts. It is the failure of state governments who do not even bother to draw evacuation maps, build retention basins, or construct climate-resilient housing. It is the unforgivable failure of the federal government, which seems to think emergency response begins after the bodies begin to rot.

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To make matters worse, we are watching a theatre of performative concern unfold. Politicians, freshly powdered for the cameras, are arriving with bags of rice, cheques, and empty empathy. They make loud donations, pose with grieving mothers, and deliver soundbites for prime-time television. But what they do not deliver is a comprehensive flood mitigation plan. What they never unveil is a blueprint to stop this nightmare from happening again. The donations are transactional; the tragedy, cyclical.

This is not new. We have seen this same charade after the 2012 floods that displaced over two million Nigerians across 30 states. Again in 2018, major parts of Benue, Anambra, and Delta were submerged. In 2022, over 600 lives were lost and 1.4 million people displaced in what was declared one of Nigeria’s worst natural disasters in decades. Each time, committees are formed, relief is shared, and a deafening silence follows. Until the next flood comes. We are trapped in a loop of disaster and denial.

What is the point of NIMET’s weather forecasts if nobody acts on them? What use is NEMA if it only arrives after villages have become watery graves? Why do state governments scramble to distribute relief materials instead of investing in pre-flood interventions? Why do we wait to wail when we could act to prevent?

Experts have long warned of Nigeria’s vulnerability to climate-induced disasters, yet there is no national flood risk atlas, no coordinated relocation policy, and certainly no political will to dredge rivers or enforce building codes near water bodies. In places like Mokwa, urban planning is a myth, and informal settlements mushroom in high-risk areas without scrutiny.

The contributory causes of flooding in Nigeria are glaring—blocked drainages, unregulated deforestation, poor waste disposal, construction across waterways, failure to release water from dams gradually, and the backflow from neighboring countries like Cameroon during heavy rains. But perhaps the greatest culprit is the pervasive absence of political foresight and empathy.

We can no longer pretend that floods are “natural disasters.” They are man-made catastrophes aided by neglect and ignorance. There is nothing natural about people living in areas that should have long been declared unsafe. There is nothing natural about public officials failing to prioritize environmental sustainability in their budgets. There is certainly nothing natural about losing 200 lives in one sweep of water and acting as though it were a minor event.

Mokwa is a metaphor for all of us. It is the consequence of our national amnesia—our strange habit of mourning loudly and forgetting quickly. In a few weeks, the media frenzy will die down, the politicians will return to their SUVs, and displaced residents will return to ruins, left alone with trauma and mud. Until the next rainfall.

We are long past the time of crocodile tears. What we need is a flood of action. We need governments—local, state, and federal—to begin treating flood prevention as a national security issue. We need real-time data, engineering solutions, ecological restoration, and urban planning. But most of all, we need political leaders who feel the pain of their people.

Because when flood becomes funeral, the nation itself begins to drown.

News

JUST IN: ASUU Issues Ultimatum To FG Over Unresolved Issues

Published

2 hours ago

September 29, 2025

Editor

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The union made the decision following a National Executive Council meeting held on Sunday at the University of Abuja.

The national president of ASUU, Prof. Chris Piwuna made this known in a copy of strike action he personally signed and made available to our correspondent in Abuja.

“At the National Executive Council meeting held at the University of Abuja on the 28th of September, 2025, the Union decried the neglect of the University system and the government’s consistent refusal to heed to its demands.

“Accordingly, ASUU has given the Federal Government of Nigeria an Ultimatum of fourteen (14) days within which to address these issues. If at the end of the fourteen-day ultimatum, the Federal Government fails to address these issues, the Union may have no option but to, first, embark on a two-week warning strike and thereafter, a total and indefinite strike.”

Recall that the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Education set up a committee headed by the permanent secretary of the ministry, Abel Enitan to look into a proposal for ASUU in a bid to ensure stability across universities.

At the time of filing this report, the committee has yet to make any decision known to the public.

ASUU’s core demands remain largely unchanged: renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, adequate revitalisation funds for universities, settlement of outstanding salary arrears, and sustainable funding mechanisms.

Details later

News

JUST IN: NNPC, NUPRC, NMDPRA Shut As PENGASSAN Begins Strike

Published

5 hours ago

September 29, 2025

Editor

The nationwide strike declared by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria on Monday paralysed operations at key oil and gas regulatory institutions, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

The industrial action, which followed the weekend directive by the union’s National Executive Council, saw members across the country withdrawing their services, effectively shutting down critical agencies that drive Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

It was observed that at the NUPRC headquarters in Abuja, the main gate was firmly locked, leaving several employees stranded outside the premises. Security operatives on duty confirmed that no staff were allowed entry, in line with the strike directive issued by the union.

Similarly, activities at the NMDPRA headquarters in the busy Central Business District were completely grounded as workers fully complied with the industrial action.

Confirming the situation, the PENGASSAN Chairman in NMDPRA, Tony Iziogba, told The PUNCH that the union had achieved “100 per cent compliance,” effectively restricting access to staff and visitors.

He added that his colleagues had also enforced 100 per cent compliance at the NNPCL and other relevant agencies.

PENGASSAN said the strike became inevitable after the alleged wrongful dismissal of about 800 workers at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

The union’s directive to halt crude oil and gas supplies to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has sent shockwaves through the energy sector, with oil marketers warning of severe disruptions in fuel distribution. This move is expected to choke the domestic market, driving up demand and prices.

On Sunday, PENGASSAN announced a nationwide strike, instructing all its members in various offices, companies, institutions, and agencies to cease all services starting at 12:01 am on Monday, September 29, 2025.

The union also directed members stationed in various field locations to down tools from 6:00 am on Sunday, September 28, and commence a round-the-clock prayer vigil.

In a strongly worded resolution signed by PENGASSAN General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, the union accused the refinery of violating Nigerian labour laws and International Labour Organisation conventions by sacking workers for joining the union. It alleged the dismissed workers had been replaced by foreigners.

“All processes involving gas and crude supply to Dangote Refinery should be halted immediately,” the resolution declared. “All IOC (International Oil Companies) branches must ramp down gas production and supply to Dangote Refinery and petrochemicals.”

The development has heightened fears of fuel scarcity and blackouts, as NNPC remains the sole importer of petrol while the midstream and downstream authority regulates supply and distribution. Similarly, NUPRC is responsible for monitoring crude production and enforcing gas supply obligations to power plants.

All eyes are now on Monday’s emergency meeting convened by the Minister of Labour. Whether dialogue can restore calm or whether Nigeria plunges deeper into crisis may depend on the willingness of both sides to compromise.

News

‘We Cure Madness With Madness’: Five Things To know About Taye Currency

Published

17 hours ago

September 28, 2025

Editor

The name ‘Taye Currency’ has continued to trend on social media following the Fuji music artiste’s performance at the coronation of the 44th Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, on Friday.

Taye Currency, during his performance at the coronation event which took place at Mapo Hall in Ibadan, rendered a line in Yoruba, “Were la fi n wo were,” which translates to “we cure madness with madness.”

The line, which seems not to have sat well with many Nigerians, particularly those of Yoruba heritage, has continued to generate a lot of criticism, with many opining that such lyrics were not befitting for the occasion, which had in attendance dignitaries including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, governors, ministers, traditional rulers, and other crème de la crème of society.

Reacting to the development, the Olu of Kemta Orile in Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State, Oba Adetokunbo Tejuosho, criticised Taye Currency for what he described as “classless and unbefitting lyrics.”

According to him, the musician failed to accord the coronation its due respect, describing his lyrics as unbefitting of the sacred ceremony.

He said, “The throne of our ancestors is not a stage for mockery, nor the coronation of a great monarch a subject for careless entertainment.

“Kingship is sacred, adorned with honor and guarded by tradition. It demands reverence, dignity, honor, class and the utmost respect from all who stand in its presence.

“Listening to the musician (Taye Currency), who was invited to render music before the Crown, as a matter of fact before the entire world, to serenade the audience and sing in a way to express admiration, singing songs like (were lafi n wo were) We use madness to cure madness.

“Such lyrics were classless and unbefitting of such occasions, it is insulting to the sacredness of the gathering.”

While Taye Currency is well known among Fuji music lovers, especially those from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, his performance at the Olubadan coronation has made people want to know more about him.

In this article, Tribune Online takes a look at five things to know about the trending Fuji musician.

1. Full Name and Age

His full name is Taye Akande Adebisi. Apart from his popular stage name, Taye Currency, he is also known as ‘Apesin.’ He celebrated his 50th birthday on December 17, 2024.

2. Appointment as Special Adviser on Culture and Tourism

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, appointed him as Special Adviser on Culture and Tourism in 2019 during the governor’s first tenure.

3. Father of a Lawmaker

In 2019, Taye Currency’s son, Yusuf Oladeni Adebisi, was elected into the Oyo State House of Assembly to represent Ibadan South-West Constituency 1, which earned Taye Currency another nickname, ’Baba Honorable’ (Honourable’s father). He was re-elected in 2023 as a lawmaker on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

4. Financial Setback

In April 2025, Taye Currency publicly lamented that he lost N10 million to CBEX, a crypto/investment scheme many now regard as a collapsed Ponzi platform. He explained that he was convinced to invest by close associates, only to see the scheme crumble shortly after.

5. Affiliation with Pasuma

Taye Currency has often maintained that although he never learnt Fuji music from his senior colleague, Wasiu Alabi Odetona, popularly known as Pasuma, whom he first met in 1993, he still considers him a boss.