A media framing analysis of urban flooding in Nigeria: current narratives and implications for policy

Abstract

A critical element of current flood management is the importance of engaging key policy actors when policy decisions are to be made. However, there is still only limited understanding of how narratives of flood management actors may influence flood management policies, even though there is a suggestion that actors can strategically use their narratives to influence policy directions. In a developing country like Nigeria, there are still questions around lessons that can be learnt from understanding the narratives of policy actors, to unravel the complex nature of strategies and policy directions in managing urban floods. To help fill these gaps, this paper uses quantitative content analysis to explore the frame of five policy actor groups (government, local communities, business, multilateral organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)) as expressed in local and national newspapers between 2012 and 2016 to understand their narratives of causes and strategies to solve the problem of urban flooding in Nigeria. The narratives of government, local communities and businesses align with the premise that flooding can and should be prevented whilst that of multilateral and business actors champion adaptation strategies on the basis that flooding is inevitable and hence more energy should be directed at 'living with water'-emergency response, damage reduction and the aftermath. The study also identified areas of potential consensus and conflict between direct actors such as government and local communities on the one hand and funders on the other. Better discussion among actors aiding understanding of contemporary thinking and local realities will aid policy-making and policy implementation in the Nigerian context. An important step will be in the collaborative design of an urgently needed 'Nigerian policy on flooding' which currently does not exist.

Information for Adaptation and Response to Flooding, Multi-Stakeholder Perspectives in Nigeria

“…However, preparedness activities were less prevalent in discussion than the prevention and response activities. This accords with findings from media discourse [15]. Stakeholders' view was also borne out by the household and business surveys that implied a shortfall of communication of information to households and businesses by governmental and non-governmental sources.…”

“…More specifically, in Nigeria there is currently no database that organises key information on flooding either at a national or sub-national level. There are only records of selected recent floods which are by no means complete [15]. In Nigeria, the lack of information and awareness is noted and general calls for improvement in awareness are made [16].…”

Flooding Conceptual Review: Sustainability-Focalized Best Practices in Nigeria

“…It is clearly known that control and management may not provide the ultimate panacea for flood hazards, but it will provide a perspective to improve its impacts on human activities, lives and property. Specific to Nigeria, Adekola and Lamond [22] and Olowu and Sako [49] state infrastructure and an absence of appropriate legal controls is crucially needed. As a result, inadequate access to resources It is important to note that a significant and crucial factor in saving lives includes trying to control flood occurrence or, at the minimum, to minimize vulnerability within affected areas.…”

“…Methodologies have not adequately assessed flood hazards, in all of the flood prone areas, however, a lack of application within small urban watersheds, focused on generating rainfall and runoff data in urban areas, often correlate where no major rivers exist. Two reasons for this flood-complexity are development practices used in urban areas and a lack of advanced technological methods for capturing geographical data [21,22]. As a consequent, the risk of overflow from the Niger River, spanning much of West Africa, funnels via southern Nigeria and all its minor tributaries ( Figure 2).…”

Current Issues in Early Warning and Development Initiatives Towards Enhanced Flood-Related Resilience in Nigeria

“…Literally, these efforts, which are being motivated by the Kogi's flooding experience, promote collaborative flood disaster management. However, Adekola and Lamond [63] found that collaborative flood disaster management in Nigeria, which is essential to build community resilience to floods, must engage the governments, communities, businesses, multilateral, and nongovernmental organizations.…”