Alhaji Musa Saidu, a prominent international advocate for human rights and the environment, has renewed his request to President Muhammadu Buhari for assistance for Bayelsa state in order to lessen the impact of the disastrous flood there.
Saidu, who serves as the International Human Rights Commission’s Coordinator and Special Envoy for Ecology and the Marine Sector in Africa, claimed that the flood was a persistent issue in the state and pleaded with the federal government to help it find a long-term solution.
He remembered that in the 1990s, the late Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, and numerous others, including himself, were among those invited to gather money to address the issue. He also mentioned that at the time, he donated two hundred thousand naira as the head of the Arewa Consultative Forum.
He stressed that the issue was too big for the Bayelsa state government to handle on its own and that the federal government needed to step in immediately.
He also criticized Hajiya Sadiya Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, for making a recent remark about the flood crisis in Bayelsa state that appeared to minimize the tragic circumstances.
Saidu said that the Minister overstepped her authority and claimed that it was the Ministry of Environment’s responsibility to examine the flood situation, not the Minister’s, and that President Buhari should disregard her and take direct action to solve the issue once and for all.
He remarked that it was unfortunate that the Minister, who had a history with Port Harcourt, specifically in Warri street, could so casually dismiss a serious flood situation in the states of Rivers and Bayelsa, noting that she had not even traveled to the two states to show her sympathies for the situation.
In addition, he suggested that people in Bayelsa and other places affected by the flood fumigate their homes before moving back in.
