LAGOS FLOOD: A REMINDER OF OUR GLOBAL WORLD.

LAGOS FLOODING: A REMINDER OF OUR GLOBAL WORLD.

Many things remind us that we live in and global world. A world where the effects of a ripple is vibrated in communities too far from where the stone was throw.

A few weeks ago, some parts of Lagos was submerged in varying depth of water for many days. A lot of people had to evaluate their homes because their living space had been submerged in water.

A white man humored us all by making his movement easy by simply plying a canoe on what should be a tarred road. Our hearts reached out to those affected. The areas affected were mainly the high-brow part of Lagos where occupants have better means to cope with a disaster. If it were in poorer areas, more people would have been affected and the effect would have been even more catastrophic.

A lot of people were quick to call on the Lagos State Government, condemning the poor drainage system in the big city. Some even attributed the flood to be a consequence of compromised standards, poor town planning, non-adherence to city plans and compromise in standards in the exchange for a few naira. If we were in ancient times, it definitely would have been attributed to the anger or punishment of the gods.

But a peep into global happenings would reveal that we are not the only ones affected. Some other cities in the world have been submerged in water as well, destroying lives and properties.

Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, Assam, Gujarat, and most recently, Texas. These cities and countries and more have been affected by flooding in this year alone. Lives lost in these floods far exceed hundreds, properties valued at millions of dollars damaged. All usual activities, both business, educational, social activities are brought to a halt at times like this.

Relatively, the Lagos flood brought less havoc than the flooding in these other locations.

I know Nigeria has her ills. Admittedly, very many of them. But it is apparent that the Lagos flooding was not caused by any of our many inefficiencies. Yes, we do have poor drainage systems, but flooding itself is a natural disaster that man-made activities need not cause, nor is able to completely prevent.

You know the "beaches" in Lagos where people go to have fun? It is an ocean, connected to other oceans in the world. And sometimes these bodies of water rise. Pushing water levels higher around coastal areas.

These recent floodings are not the first and sadly, would not be the last. Global warming, climate change, glacier breakings, should make us expect even more floodings.

When we hear of global warming, we assume it's white man problem. But when its effect begin to manifest, we blame it on the inefficiency of our Government.

As other Nations are working towards slowing down the effects of global warming, and healing our environment of the damages already done, how is Nigeria contributing to that effort?

Indeed we live in a global world. An unrest in one region can trigger crisis in many other regions of the world. The unrest in the middle East is causing immigration challenges in the West. Thinning down the Immigration opportunities for we here in Africa.

What led us into recession today? It is not entirely because of corruption. Alternative source of energy is being explored by some countries, plunging the demand for our "golden crude" and plummeting its price in the international market. Leaving us with lesser earnings from our major source of revenue as a Nation and bringing us to this dire financial time.

As much as we are consumed by problems at the home front, we should make efforts to proffer solution to global problems. As it invariably would affect us, someway, somehow.