The experts insist that unless urgent and very drastic steps are immediately taken, the crisis may worsen as floods continue to ravage farmlands in the northern states.

Ten states, namely Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Taraba, Bauchi, Zamfara, Yobe, Sokoto and Kebbi are highly affected, following heavy rainfall in the region.

An agricultural investor in Toro LGA of Bauchi State, Bello Yakazsi, urged the government to declare an emergency in the food sector across the country.

Yakazsi, said, “While the situation we are currently experiencing in the North can be said to be a peculiar one, it is high time that the Federal Government declared a state of emergency in the country’s agricultural sector.

“We have limited powers over the strange and dynamic play of Mother Nature but the little efforts we can muster to save ourselves from hunger and starvation must be put in place by all the government agencies. This is not the time for politics.”

As a result of the effect of the twin threat of flood and drought, some farmers in Kano State, especially those within the 14 LGAs that are at a high risk of flooding as predicted by the National Emergency Management Agency, have continued to express fears about possible flooding in the state and have begun praying against flooding as rainfall persists across the 44 Local Government Areas.

One of the farmers in Rimin Gado, Mallam Musa Sani, told The PUNCH, “Since the beginning of August, we’ve been experiencing heavy rainfall, which lasts for long hours, on a daily basis.

“As you know, too much rainfall does not allow crops to grow speedily. So, we fear that once flood occurs, farmers are at the risk of losing their crops.”

An official of the State Emergency Management Agency, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, confirmed to The PUNCH on Saturday that “even though the agency has yet to receive the comprehensive report on the flood from our assessment team, we are very worried about the situation but, we cannot act without any official report.”

Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Haruna Mairiga, told our correspondent in Dutse that over 2,744 hectares of farmlands had been washed away by flood in Jigawa State. The floods ravaged 12 LGAs, namely Buji, Kafin Hausa, Auyo, Hadejia, Birniwa, Malam Madori, Garki, Taura, Gwaram, Dutse, Kiyawa and Jahun.

“No fewer than 2,744 hectares of farmlands have been washed away by the flood across the 12 affected LGAs. From August 1 to 13, 2024, the state witnessed intermittent downpours leading to several incidences of flood and the death of 21 persons as well as the destruction of farmlands and houses,” Mairiga said.

He added that farmers in the state had lost over N1bn of farm produce and crops to flood.

Mansur Musa, Chairman of Kiyawa LGA, one of the worst-hit LGAs, said many farmlands and villages, as well as the LGA secretariat, have been submerged by water.

In Zamfara State, Shehu Shinkafi, a farmer on the outskirts of Shinkafi LGA told The PUNCH that many farmers were expecting a bumper harvest following the stability of water in their farms.

However, he expressed fears following the emergence of heavy rains in the state in recent times.

According to a report by NEMA, more heavy rainfall is expected in the state.

The agency had predicted that eight LGAs in the state ­- Bungudu, Gummi, Gusau, Bakura, Maradun, Talata-Mafara, Shinkafi, and Zurmi – would be affected by flooding during this year’s rainy season.

This was disclosed by the agency’s Director-General, Zubaida Umar, in Gusau during the sensitisation programme for the 2024 downscaling of flood early warning strategies for early actions.

Also, the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency predicted that in this year’s annual flooding outlook, 31 states with 148 LGAs would be within the high flood-risk areas, while 35 states, including the FCT and 249 LGAs, were considered within the moderate flood-risk areas. The remaining 377 LGAs were forecasted for the low flood-risk areas.

This is even as the death toll has hit 40 in the country.

The NCDC also said the suspected cases in the country are now 523 from five states – Kano, Yobe, Katsina, Lagos, and Osun states.

The Lead of the Diphtheria/Pertussis Technical Working Group in the NCDC, Dr Bola Lawal revealed this at a webinar titled ‘Diphtheria Outbreak in Nigeria: A Case of Re-Emergence or Improved Surveillance,’ monitored by our correspondent on Monday.

Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection caused by the bacterium called Corynebacterium species that affects the nose, throat, and sometimes, skin of an individual. Diphtheria spreads easily between people through direct contact with infected people droplets from coughing or sneezing, and contact with contaminated clothing and objects.

Dr Lawal said the NCDC was notified of suspected diphtheria outbreaks from Kano state and Lagos state and the rapid response team was deployed to the states on December 12, 2022, where the outbreak was confirmed in the states.

He noted that the agency is currently supporting the response activities in Kano, Katsina, Lagos, Osun, Yobe, and other states.

Giving a breakdown of the epidemiological situation, he said “Kano state has recorded 396 suspected cases with 211 confirmed cases, Yobe state has recorded 78 suspected cases with two confirmed cases; Katsina has 34 suspected cases but no confirmed case yet; Lagos state has recorded 14 suspected cases and two confirmed cases; Osun state has one confirmed case so far.

“We have also recorded 40 deaths with a case fatality rate of 18.5 per cent.

“Of the 216 confirmed cases, 184 (85.2 per cent) were aged two to 14 years from both sexes.”

He added that 40 deaths were recorded in Kano State (38) and Lagos State (two).

On the vaccination status, he said of the 216 confirmed cases, 27  were fully vaccinated, 84 were unvaccinated and 20 were partly vaccinated.

The expert said diphtheria is very much in the country with sub-optimal coverage for the pentavalent vaccine and the burden of diphtheria is under-reported due to poor surveillance and limited capacity for laboratory confirmation.

“For effective control of diphtheria, there must be a high index of suspicion among health care workers, strong laboratory capacity, timely access to diphtheria antitoxin and vaccination against diphtheria.”

In his remarks, the Director General of the NCDC, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa said the fight against disease outbreaks in the country is a joint effort involving everyone.

“Surveillance is everybody’s responsibility, it is not just enough to see. If you see something suspicious, report it to your local government, report to NCDC and then they can investigate.

“The idea is that it allows us to pick up soon after it occurs and provide more time to respond so that we can save lives and reduce suffering and protect our health workers from both known and unknown dangerous pathogens,” Adetifa said.