The term “first 100 days” was coined by Mr. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States during a radio broadcastabout 86 years ago (precisely on July 24, 1933). Roosevelt never knew at the time that the first 100 days will take on a symbolic significance and be considered a benchmark to measure the early success of a leader. The creation of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development by President Muhammadu Buhari on August 21, 2019, and the appointment of Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq as the minister were significant developments for the country and among the best decisions made by the government. Given that the ministry was conceived and born at a time of severe humanitarian crises and complex threats by extreme climatic events, an appraisal of how it has fared in its first 100 days is essential.
There are several reasons why the new ministry meant so much to Nigerians. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in its, ‘Nigeria: 2019-2021 Humanitarian Response Strategy (January 2019 – December 2021)’, estimated that 7.1 million Nigerians remained in need of humanitarian assistance in what is now known in the humanitarian parlance as BAY states i.e. Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe. OCHA equally indicated that the UN and partners, in support of the governments of Nigeria and of countries hosting Nigerian refugees simultaneously launched the HRP as well as the Regional Refugee Response Plan, respectively seeking “$848 million and $135 million to continue providing food, water, shelter and protection to the most vulnerable people in Nigeria and neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.” The conflict has generated large population movements with current displacement figure standing at almost two million individuals. This number does not include displacements and humanitarian crises resulting from herdsmen-farmers’ conflicts or banditry in certain parts of Nigeria, as well as another 800,000 people in areas that are inaccessible to international humanitarian actors in the North-East.
At the same time, Nigeria like some countries of the world is threatened by disaster from natural forces. For instance, the 2012 floods in the country caused nearly $17bn in damage and losses. President Buhari declared a national disaster in the states affected by another flood in 2018. A combination of the humanitarian crises resulting from conflict, disaster and poverty affecting almost 90 million Nigerians made the new ministry a welcome development. It is not necessarily all bad news as the humanitarian community provided life-saving assistance to almost 5.6 million affected people in 2017, another 5.5 million in 2018, and four million as of October 2019 (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 2019). The crisis, which once affected six states, is now contained to the BAY states. An appreciable progress has been made, but as the conflict continues, significant humanitarian needs remain.
The minister sent an important message on October 19 when she appeared at the scene of a truck fire disaster in Onitsha within 24 hours of the incident that caused loss costing millions of naira. This uncommon attitude is a good omen for a new Nigeria. Having a sitting minister appearing at a disaster scene without necessarily sending a representative shows a high sense of professionalism and concern for lives and property. While it is not expected that the minister visits all disaster scenes to demonstrate that the government cares, her action sends an important message to all persons in position of authority in Nigeria especially those who deal with emergencies that it is not going to be business as usual.
On November 6, 2019, there was a dialogue between the Federal Government and the humanitarian community in the North-East under the leadership of the minister in what is now known as the Civil-Security Cooperation in Humanitarian Interventions in the North-East Workshop. In his opening remark at the workshop, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon, noted, “It was the first time that civil authorities, the military, and humanitarian actors from national and international levels were meeting under one roof” to examine the humanitarian challenges in the Northeast, with a view to “prioritizing prevention always, development wherever possible and humanitarian action when necessary”. That it has to take the creation of a new ministry and a minister to call such an important workshop involving all the relevant actors, speaks to the coordinating role of the ministry. This is an area where the minister deserves commendation given the fact that collaboration is crucial to finding a lasting solution to a conflict that has killed over 27,000 people, created thousands of widows, widowers, orphans, and abduction of thousands of women and girls, as well as over $8bn worth of damage to infrastructure.
As the workshop was ending, an agency of the new ministry i.e. the National Emergency Management Agency on the November 2019 launched its National Emergency Management Policy document in response to the United Nations Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. It is unfortunate that many Nigerians do not appear to understand the significance of that important event. The framework adopted by member states about four years ago listed targets and priorities for action to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risks. There are 25 targets related to disaster risk reduction in 10 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, firmly establishing the role of disaster risk reduction as a core development strategy for the FMHDSD and its minister. The overall essence of the document is to build safer and more resilient communities. Nigerians at all levels must begin to take steps towards preventing new and reducing existing disaster risks as echoed by the Director General of NEMA. On the international day for disaster risk reduction (October 13, 2019), the minister re-stated the commitment of her ministry to not only support recovery from disaster, but equally committed to disaster risk reduction, while urging Nigerians to do the same. The minister’s position aligns with the UN Secretary General, Mr. António Guterres’ declaration that reducing disaster risk is a good investment, and the right thing to do. For every dollar invested, six dollars can be saved.
Umar-Farouq, by her action so far, has demonstrated the five practices of exemplary leadership by Kouzes and Posner (2003). She Modelled the Way, and Inspired a Shared Vision of a government that values the lives of its citizens. She Challenged the Process whereby disaster impacted victims were often being directed by their state governments to wait on NEMA. Unfortunately, many times, state governments have continued to shift their responsibilities to the Federal Government and its agencies. The minister’s directive to relevant agencies to immediately swing into action while providing an enabling environment and resources demonstrated her commitment to Enabling Others to Act. Her presence to personally empathise with the victims and remind them that they were not alone speaks to her understanding of what it takes to Encourage the Heart.
While the minister’s response to the fire disaster in Onitsha will be remembered for a long time, the role of local governments and states in disaster management in Nigeria needs to be revisited with a view to developing their capacities. Overreliance of state governments on the Federal Government to intervene in times of disaster is not in the best interest of the country. It is a deviation from the strategic thinking behind the Sendai Framework. Headlines of wealthy Nigerians donating relief materials to disaster impacted citizens often abound, but gaps exist in the activities of state governments towards disaster risk reduction. While Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and a few states have done amazing job in this area, overreliance of Nigerians on the Federal Government especially NEMA and the FMHDSD for help in times of disaster is not sustainable. NEMA has a well-developed capacity but alone it cannot address all the challenges associated with disaster in the 21st century. State governments must do their part without necessarily running to the agency at the smallest of disasters. With states not doing much, it is difficult to blame local government areas some of whose administrators are not sure of what to do before, during, and after a disaster. This is an area that the new minister needs to look into.That there are still many states without structures on the ground to address the four phases of emergency management (i.e. mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery) in the 21st century calls for concern.
Dr Edino, a development & disaster management professional based in Alberta Canada, wrote in via ogwumadeji1@gmail.com
END
Be the first to comment