Dr. Olayinka Ajala, the Head of Geography Department, Obafemi Awolowo
University, Ile-ife, Osun State, on Monday said desertification was a
major cause of flooding in parts of the country.
Ajala said this in Osogbo in an interview with the News Agency of
Nigeria on the imminent flood in parts of the country as predicted by
NIMET.
He said: “One of the major causes of flood is desertification.
“Desertification implies the encroachment of desert with adverse
effect on the vegetation.
“Desertification is peculiar to the North East and the North West
sub-regions of the country.
“So, flood sets in as a result of loss of vegetation in that part of
the country.
“The South West zone is located in the humid tropical region, which
makes the environment prone to flooding and erosion.
“Unless government is proactive enough to engage experts in the area
of land use, planning and mapping of the soil resources through
inventory, the situation may be worse.”
He said logging was exposing the soil to run-off and gave room for
chloro-carbon gases to be emitted into the space.
The lecturer attributed the menace of flooding and ocean surge in the
coastal strips to the emission of gases, which caused climate change.
The university lecturer called for aggressive forestation programme
and sustainable development to control and prevent future occurrence
of the calamity.
He also urged the government to make cooking fuel affordable to people
to discourage the use of firewood.
“Government should tackle flooding through conversion of waste that
block water channels to synthetic materials.”
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