Unprecedented flooding in Borno State, northern Nigeria, has deepened an already dire food crisis in a region long impacted by insurgency and economic instability. The collapse of the Alau dam in September flooded the state capital, Maiduguri, and surrounding areas, devastating farmland and driving thousands of families into displacement camps.
For Indo Usman, a mother of six who had repeatedly fled her village due to attacks by Boko Haram insurgents, the flood’s impact was crushing. “I can’t even cry anymore. I’m too tired,” Usman shared. Forced to start over in Maiduguri, she lost her livestock and was left with no options but to seek shelter in a barren room at the Gubio displacement camp.
The damage inflicted by the floods extends beyond Borno. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), heavy rains have flooded 29 of Nigeria’s 36 states, destroying over 1.5 million hectares of farmland and impacting nine million people. Crops of rice, maize, pepper, and beans, already scarce due to insurgency and kidnappings in key agricultural areas, have suffered severe setbacks. Staple food prices have surged, leaving millions unable to afford basic meals.
The collapse of Borno's Alau dam exemplifies the lack of critical infrastructure maintenance across the nation. Although state officials had assured residents the dam was secure, local engineers and residents raised concerns, which were tragically validated when it failed, resulting in hundreds of casualties.
As prices of essential goods have doubled or quadrupled in many regions, families are facing impossible choices. Roughly 40% of Nigeria’s 200 million citizens live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank, with 25 million Nigerians currently in acute food insecurity—a figure expected to rise to 33 million by mid-2025.
Trust Mlambo, head of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Nigeria’s northeast, described the escalating crisis as a “crisis within a crisis within a crisis,” noting that international aid has been stretched thin due to emergencies in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan. "We are prioritizing the hungriest of the hungry," he said, acknowledging the inadequate resources to fully meet the region’s needs.
In Banki, near the Cameroonian border, farmer Mariam Hassan lost her crops to repeated flooding, pushing her family into poverty. "I beg the neighbors or relatives to give me food, not even for me but for my children," Hassan said.
The current crisis in Borno and across Nigeria is a stark reminder of the urgent need for humanitarian assistance, improved infrastructure, and climate adaptation measures to prevent future tragedies and alleviate widespread suffering.