A repeat of the 2022 devastating flooding that led to the death of over 600 people and the destruction of farmlands and properties stares down Nigeria in the face as neighbour Cameroon opens the floodgate of its Lagdo dam that threatens to expose the flaws in the food value chain of Africa’s biggest economy.
Located in northern Cameroon, the dam shares proximity with about 13 Nigerian states.
Cameroon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision to open the Lagdo Dam was “due to the heavy rainfall around the Dam catchment area in Northern Cameroon.”
Cameroon authorities said they were putting precautionary measures to forestall a repeat of last year’s disastrous flooding.
“Lagdo Dam will be releasing only modulated variable small amount of water at a time in order to mitigate and avoid damages that the released water may cause along the River Benue basin in both Cameroon and in Nigeria,” said Umar Salisu, a director of African affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In 2016, Cameroon and Nigeria signed a memorandum of understanding to share information on actions to be taken about the reservoir to prevent damages that could happen as a result of opening the Lagodo dam.
