Resilient cities an antidote against hazard risk and disaster in nigeria

Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic Multidisciplinary Journal 2: (2) 44-55 Yunusa & Yahaya, (2017)
44
RESILIENT CITIES: AN ANTIDOTE AGAINST HAZARD, RISK AND DISASTER
IN NIGERIA
Yunusa Zubairu Lawal and Yahaya Abdullahi
Department of Urban and Regional Planning,
Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
ABSTRACT
A major developmental challenge facing the developing world today is how to cope with
urbanization and its adverse consequences that is currently on the increase. In most cities of
the developing countries, Nigeria in particular, investment in infrastructure and environmental
sustainability has failed to keep pace with the growth in population and thus, leading to
developmental and environmental challenges. The outcomes of this developmental process are
diverse urban problems ranging from overcrowding, deplorable environment, poor living
conditions, development on marginal areas, urban sprawl, inadequate and poor infrastructural
services, homelessness and other related problems leading to accumulation of risk and
accompanied by vulnerability to disaster with severe impact. The need for an effective and
functional mechanism towards creating resilient cities to cope against disaster for our cities
that will stimulate progressive National development, security, good governance and
environmental sustainability becomes of great concern and this justifies the intend of this
paper.
Keywords: Urbanization, Resilient cities, Disaster

45
INTRODUCTION
The world today faces complex challenges, many of which have clear environmental
dimensions. These challenges include security, urbanisation, energy, land, utilities, and
disasters among others. In particular, Disasters are as old as human history and occurring in an
unprecedented way at a frequency and magnitude that is causing an unimaginable damage and
impacts Worldwide. The drastic increase and the damage caused by them in the recent past
have become a cause of national and international concern (Balaka and Singh, 2006).
The number of reported major catastrophes and their impacts on social and economic
development has been increasing Worldwide with the growing of world population and
evidence of more phenomenal increase in the future (United Nations Development Programme
UNDP, 2008). The potential for human induced and natural disaster is growing daily and as
such, affecting the global climate change, and climate variability which increases the frequency
and intensity of climate related events (hazards). The number of natural and man-made
disasters has increased inexorably and also, every year more than two hundred million people
are affected bydrought, flood, earthquakes, cyclones, tsunamis, wild fires, hurricanes and other
disasters associated with natural hazards globally (UNDP, 2008).
Over the past decades, several measures, plans, policies and programmes have been adopted
across the globe with the technical assistance of the United Nations and World Bank. While no
country in the world is safe; inadequate capacity to mitigate the impact of hazards remain a
major burden for developing countries and this justifies the need for adopting a new paradigm
for creating resilient cities that will guarantee sustainable environment, functional urban
planning, infrastructural development, National security, environmental sustainability and
good governance in Nigerian cities.
CONCEPTUAL DEFINITION OF DISASTER RELATED TERMS
Hazard: Hazards are dangerous condition or event that threaten or have the potential for
causing injury to life or damage to property or the environment (Anand, 2008).
Hazards are climatological, geological, hydrological or geomorphological phenomenon which
poses threat to humans and their activities. Hazards are broadly grouped as Natural hazards and
Human-induced Hazards.

46
Risk: Risk is the combination of the probability of an event and its negative consequences. It
is the product of the degree of exposure to a hazard (United Nations International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction UNISDR, 2012).
Vulnerability: Vulnerability is the characteristics and circumstances of the community system
or assets that makes it susceptible to the damaging effects of hazards, in other words,
vulnerability is a function of human activities and behaviours. It describes the degree to which
a socio-economic system or physical assets are either susceptible or resilient to the impact of
natural hazards (UNISDR, 2012).
Vulnerability is determined by a combination of several factors, including awareness of
hazards, the condition of human settlements and infrastructure, public policy and
administration, the wealth of a given society and organized abilities in all fields of Disaster and
Risk Management (UNISDR, 2012).
Resilience: Resilience is the ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazard to
prevent, to resist, to absorb, to accommodate and to recover, from the effect of hazards in a
timely and efficient manner including through preparation and restoration of its basic essential
functions and structures (UNISDR, 2012).
Disaster: Disaster is defined as a serious disruption of the functioning of a society causing
wide spread human, material or environmental issues which exceed the ability of the affected
societyto cope using its own resource (Balaka and Singh, 2006).Disaster is also a consequences
of inappropriately managed risk which is characterized by death, displacement, diseases, loss
of crops, damage to physical infrastructure, depletion of social and natural system, institutional
weakening and general disruption in economic and social activities of Areas. Disasters are
either Natural or Human-induced and can only occur as a result of the combination of hazard,
vulnerability and insufficient capacity or measures to reduce the potential chances of risk.
Fig 1: Relationship between Hazard, Vulnerability and Disaster

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DISASTER IN NIGERIA AND THE NEED FOR A NEW PARADIGM
In Nigeria, the impacts of disaster must be interpreted as consequences of different structural
situations that expose people and systems to danger. The natural events as determining factors
of disasters play a secondary role when compared to the socio-economic, political and physical
environment. Consequently, vulnerability becomes the “active agent” in a disaster, not the
natural phenomenon, which only serves to ignite pre-existing critical situation. Natural and
Human-induced disasters come in many forms and it is when nature comes into conflict with
humans that catastrophe results. Thus, it becomes difficult to talk about disaster and
vulnerability without considering where people have chosen to live and how densely they have
spatially occupied. Cities of developing countries, Nigeria inclusive; are worst hit by natural
and human-induced disasters as they are being exposed to the risk of disasters with less
resilience (Jinadu and Sani, 2008). In these countries, urban centres have been the hub of large,
medium and small scale disasters with severe consequences. One simple cause of all these
disasters is that the world population is higher than ever before due to the influence of
urbanization. Urbanization statistics show that the global urban population grew from seven
hundred and thirty seven million (737 million) people in 1950 to 3.5 billion people in 2010 and
will increase up to 5 billion people in 2030 (Jinadu, 2013).
In Nigeria, urban human settlements are largely the homes of disaster due to the rapid rate of
urbanization trend with an attendant problem of congestion, urban sprawl, poor unguided
physical development in marginal areas and urban fringes, poor environmental sanitation, civil
unrest, ethno religious conflicts, infectious diseases, increasing poverty and infrastructure
deficiencies which have resulted in disaster risk accumulation in Nigerian towns and cities.
Thus, increasing urban risk, high frequency and magnitude of disaster are major challenges
which call for great concern to the physical/environmental planners and other allied
professionals to find ways of curtailing the menace. In Nigeria, environmental problems
manifest in various forms and dimensions. For example, as noted by (Adetunji, 2006), every
state of the federation across the various ecological zones suffers from one form of
environmental ill or the other. The Northern zone is groaning under the effect of wind erosion
which is aggravated by deforestation, drought, over-grazing and desertification. The coastal
South “washes” away into the ocean, gully erosion opens the middle belt and most southern
states especially in the South East. In addition to these, there are other environmental problems
such as; bush burning, gas flaring, pollution, municipal waste disposal and above all the general
rural and urban infrastructural decay (Adetunji, 2006).

48
One of the factors identified as contributing to the frequent Natural disaster is climate change.
Many Nigerians cities including Ibadan, Lagos, Jos, Port-Harcourt, Sokoto, Kaduna, Owerri,
Yenegoa, Calabar and Ado-Etiki currently face high risk from climate change impacts. The
realities of climate change are much more evident in several Nigerian coastal and inland cities
where flooding has become more frequent, intense and occurring in location previously not at
risk. The coastal communities in Lagos, Ondo, Bayelsa and Rivers State are highly vulnerable
to climate-induced risk such as sea level rise, storm surges and flooding while the inland cities
are equally exposed to temperature increases, flooding and windstorms. Their risk level is very
high due to a combination of exposure to multiple hazards, poverty, overcrowding and a low
adaptive capacity (Bolanle, 2013).
Some Recent Disaster Records in Nigeria
Disasters have assumed a dangerous dimension in Nigeria lately with far reaching implication
on the location, physical characteristics, functional efficiency and quality of settlements.
Causal Factors of Disaster in Nigeria
In Nigeria, several factors could be considered responsible for different disasters, some of
which include the following;
1. Urbanization: urbanisation is the process of urban development under the influence of
mass migration (influx) of people from one geographical region to another. The rapid
rate of urbanization has led to the emergence of urban problems such as congestion,
unguided spatial development, overstretch of public facilities and services thereby,
exposing such developments to vulnerability of disaster risk.
2. Weak spatial planning: unguided spatial development is driven by weak spatial
planning. Preparations of planning schemes are not frequented as developments are
sprawling, this is due to the ineffectiveness of physical planning laws and
administration in practice.
3. Weak development control: development control function is not effectively
implemented and adhered to therefore, checkmating the environmental and
developmental imbalance becomes a problem.
4. Inadequate knowledge on risk and disaster: awareness on risk and disaster is
inadequate to most areas vulnerable to disasters. A high number of those developing on
vulnerable areas are novice to the consequences of their actions.

49
5. Lack of risk information: lack of risk and hazard information on disaster prone areas
tend to expose people to vulnerability of disaster risk.
6. Ecological imbalance: the interdependence of living organisms and the environment
are not symmetrical as such, results to ecological imbalance. This influences climate
change.
7. Poor infrastructural provision: if spatial developments are unguided, infrastructures
(roads, drainages, utilities etc) will be poorly provided and will expose neighbourhoods,
communities, cities to vulnerability of disaster and risk.
8. Poverty: Poverty is a major threat to the exposure of lives and property to disaster. Low
standard of living influence development on marginal area as they seem to be relatively
cheaper to access.
Table1: Summarized Records of Recent Major Disasters in Nigeria.
S/N Date Location Disaster Estimated Damage
Lives Properties
1 26 August 2011 Apete, Bodija and
Ogbere-Babanla in
Ibadan, Oyo state.
Flood 100 people dead 2000 buildings collapsed.
2 24 August 2012 Nigeria/Cameroon Flood 49 people dead 91,000 people displaced,
117,978 structures destroyed
in 16 L.G.A of Adamawa,
Taraba and Benue states.
3 2012 28 of 36 states of the
federation
Flooding, erosion,
oil spillage, building
collapse, drought,
temperature extreme
and siltation
- -
4 2012 Nasarawa state 14 different Fire
outbreaks
14 lives lost Property worth N50.9
million lost
5 2012 Kogi State Flood 19 person dead 335 communities in 9 L.G.A
flooded.
30,709 people displaced,
several structures destroyed.
6 2012 Akwanga, Awe,
Doma, Kokona, Karu,
Keana, Lafia and
Toto, all in Nasarawa
state
Flood 28 lives lost 128 communities displaced,
94,538 people internally
displaced, 9000 hectare of
cultivable farmland lost.
N30 billion lost in total.
7 21 April 2013 Ado-Ekiti Flood 3 people dead Destroyed several buildings
8 21 May 2013 Cross River state Rain storm/flood 1 person died Displaced 6000 people.
9 January and May
2013
Lafia market,
residential building in
Karu and Kokona,
Nassarawa state
Fire outbreak 3 people dead Loss of properties worth
N404 million
10 22 – 23
September 2013
Ibadan Flood 2 people died, 1
person injured
-
11 2015 River Kaduna,
Kaduna state
Flood - Several homes and
properties displaced
12 April 2016 Sabon-Gari/Singa
Market, Kano state
Fire outbreak - Property worth N3.5 trillion
lost
13 11 May 2016 Zaria, Kaduna State Rain and wind storm - Over 200 houses destroyed.
Source: Author, 2016

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TOWARDS RESILIENT CITIES
Addressing the many problems characterizing cities today require a more holistic, integrated
and city wide approach in which solutions should be equivalent to the scale of the problem.
Reducing the level of urban risk and increasing resiliency in Nigerian cities, appropriate
measures need to be taken to remove or reduce the underlying risk factors in the urban centres
through;
Urban and Regional Planning practice, a tool for creating resilient cities:
In Nigeria, the involvement of Urban and Regional Planners in all the stages of disaster
management is quite obscure. They are rarely involved in Disaster Risk Reduction, Education,
Preparedness, Response, Recovery, Risk and Vulnerability assessment and Plan preparations,
Rural and Urban Development Programmes i.e. flood/fire/drought action plans, watershed
protection and rehabilitation plans.
Urban and regional planning is a key for curtailing the effect of disasters and building resilient
cities through effective and functional adaptation measures and risk sensitivity planning. An
important role for planning in this context is to advocate towards sustainable development
through the following principles.
A. Preventive Measures:
i. The Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning law Decree No.88 of 1992 should be fully
and effectively enforced in practice and in the contents of the exclusive list of the
Nigerian constitution so as, to be effectively and efficiently functional.
ii. Planners and policy makers should re-embrace adequate compact and mixed use cities.
Cities realize their full potentials when they are compact, integrated and connected.
This requires a shift away from the mono-functional city of low density and long
distance which is poorly connected, socially divided and economically inefficient.
Instead the new paradigm optimizes well designed demography and economic densities
and proximity among firms and people within a dominantly mixed land use pattern,
minimizing transport and services delivery cost, optimizing the use of land and
promoting social diversity (Marcus, 2013).
iii. Urban public space should be promoted as a way to improve the functioning of a city.
Effective policy on the establishment, management and maintenance of urban space are

51
the key for economic performance and efficiency, as well as inclusivity, workability
and social interaction (Marcus, 2013).
iv. Creating smart land-use planning, transport system and building codes is essential.
Effective codes and regulations are key instrument for pursuing resilient and functional
urban development. Such codes as, land-use zoning, mixed uses among others (Marcus,
2013).
B. Adaptation Measures and Risk Sensitivity Planning:
Hazard Assessment and Mapping: Hazard assessments provide information on the probable
location and severity of dangerous natural phenomena and the likelihood of their occurrence
within a specific time period in a given area. These rely heavily on available scientific
information, including geologic, geomorphic, and soil maps; climate and hydrological data and
topographic maps, aerial photographs and satellite imagery. Historical information also helps
characterize potential hazardous location and events (World Bank and UNDP 2002).
Vulnerability Assessment: Vulnerability assessments are systematic examinations of building
elements, facilities, population groups or components of the economy to identify features that
are susceptible to damage from the effects of natural hazards (World Bank and UNDP 2002).
Vulnerability is a function of the prevalent hazards and the characteristics and quantity of
resources or population exposed or at risk to their effects. Vulnerability can be estimated for
individual structures, for specific sectors or for selected geographic areas, e.g., areas with the
greatest development potential or already developed areas in hazardous zones.
Risk Assessment: Carrying out a risk assessment requires an estimate of the probability of
experiencing the selected event and an understanding of the effects of such an event on the
resources at risk (people, structures, employment and the economy) in the assessment area. A
probable maximum loss study is one example of a risk assessment. Results of such an
assessment are important for prioritizing decisions in vulnerability reduction and for
understanding insurance and reserve funds requirements.
Structural Measures: The Structural Risk Reduction measure requires actions needed to
strengthen capability and facilities. They are practical actions and environmental alteration
measures required in managing Risk, reducing the effects of hazards and making the Nigerian
cities resilient to disaster. Measures to strengthen buildings, facilities and the environment
include flood and wind proofing, elevation, seismic retrofitting and burial (e.g. utilities),

52
sediment trapping structures, shore protection and flood control works, slope stabilization and
wetlands protection.
Non Structural Measures: Non-structural measures are reviews and implementation of laws
and policies, which guide development and investment towards reduced vulnerability to
hazards. Examples of non-structural measure includes; Urban and Regional Planning law,
Building codes, Development regulations, acquisition of hazardous properties, tax and fiscal
incentives and public education. Typically, non-structural measures are significantly less costly
than structural measures, but they have immediate effect on reducing vulnerability and require
oversight by the government to ensure continued and proper implementation of these laws and
policies.
Institutional Capacity Building: the ability to manage risk and disaster in the urban areas
depends largely on the availability and capacity of requisite institutional framework for disaster
risk reduction (DRR) (Jinadu, 2013). Although, Nigeria has different institutions and
machinery at the Federal, State and Local levels, the existing authorities still requires
contemporary and efficient capacity building.
City-to-city networking and partnership for Disaster Risk Reduction: institutional
cooperation and networking across urban communities in Nigeria and the United Nations is
required towards setting out effective framework to reduce environmental risk and build the
required resiliency in cities (Jinadu, 2013). Therefore, institutional coordination should be
encouraged to remove overlapping functions, activities and responsibilities among
departments, agencies, board of ministries and parastatals.
Promoting Landscape and construction of Green building in Nigerian Cities: fostering and
enhancing the Eco-friendly Cities, Smart Cities, Urban Growth Boundaries as tools for
preserving the natural green belt, ecosystem, biodiversity and reducing global warming,
thereby enhancing resiliency in Nigerian cities and mitigating the effects of disasters.
Urban Renewal Schemes: the stakeholders concerned should design a comprehensive
infrastructure, planning schemes and physical improvement programme for slum area
(Rehabilitation, Redevelopment etc) thereby, providing for water systems, de-clogging of
water ways, drainage system improvement, among others. A renewal scheme will increase the
resilience of poor areas.

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Environmental Risk Reduction: Environmental risk reduction measures are designed to
protect existing or rehabilitate degraded environmental systems that have the capacity to reduce
the impacts of natural hazards (World Bank and UNDP 2002). These can take the form of
policies and programs, such as development control or environmental impact assessments,
which reduce or eliminate the effect of human activities on the environment. They can also
include physical measures that restore or fortify damaged environmental systems.
Post Disaster Measures: In the aftermath of a disaster, there is great pressure to repair damage
quickly. Putting in place pre-approved and tested reconstruction plans and procedures, with
identified financing can significantly reduce vulnerability to future hazard events, while
overcoming the traditional time and budget constraints (World Bank and UNDP 2002).
Budget Self-insurance: The owner of a property, the government, a private company or an
individual should allocate a modest yearly budget to spend on improved maintenance and on
selected retrofit investments, which have the effect of reducing future expected losses in the
event of a disaster (World Bank and UNDP 2002).
Market Insurance and re-insurance: Insurance provides coverage for damage and expenses
that are beyond the potential for budget self-insurance. Insurance makes available funds
necessary to repair damage or rebuild shortly after a disaster event and can help survive the
recovery and rehabilitation period (World Bank and UNDP 2002). It is important to note that
insurance as a mechanism does not reduce actual vulnerability.
Public Asset coverage: Most public assets are not covered by insurance. Funds for rebuilding
damaged assets do come from annual budgets or external sources, which puts great pressure
on public budgets in the post-disaster period. Insurance coverage for critical public assets will
ensure that key infrastructure can be rebuilt or rehabilitated quickly if damaged in the event of
disaster (World Bank and UNDP 2002).
CONCLUSION
Nigerians live in an urban World and urbanization will continue to be one of the defining trends
of their future. For cities to promote sustainable development, security and resilience, necessary
attention needs to be given to urban planning because cities that are well planned, implemented
and maintained, will be well protected from disaster. Planning against disaster is hinged on the
availability of risk information, effective measures and risk sensitivity planning. Laws, Policies

54
and Programmes, no matter how well outlined, may not be effective if not well Implemented,
Supervised/Monitored and Reviewed.
Such increased attention need to be followed by commitment and implementation to adequate
resources and building capacity for Planning Cities in a sustainable, secured and resilient
manner in Physical, Economic, Social and Environmental terms.
REFERENCES
Adetunji, A. M. 2006. The Nigerian Environment. A publication of the National Open
University of Nigeria.
Anand, S. A, Anup, K and Ankush, A. 2008. Hazard, Disaster and Your Community. A
document prepared under the Gol-UNDP Disaster Risk Management Programme. A
Primer for Parliamentarians, Version 1.0.
Balaka, D. and Singh, R. B. 2006. National Hazards and Disaster Management; A
supplementary textbook in Geography, published by Central Board of Secondary
Education, Preet Vihar, Delhi.
Bolanle, W. 2013. Disaster Risk Management in Nigerian Rural and Urban settlements. A
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Federal Republic of Nigeria 1992. Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Decree, No. 88 of
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Jinadu, A. M. 2007. Understanding the Basics of Housing: A book of study notes for students
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Jinadu, A. M and Sani, L. M. 2008. “Fire disaster and Infrastructure security problems in Urban
Areas: A case study of Niger state”. Proceedings of the 3rd
Bi-annual conference on
Urban and Regional Planning, school of Environmental Technology, Federal
University of Technology, Minna. Vol. 1, No. 1. Pp. 30-45.

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Jinadu, A. M. 2013. Disaster Risk Management in Nigerian Rural and Urban settlements. A
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Hazard Risk Management in the Carribean: Revisiting the challenges.

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