Key Takeaways
- Deji Adeyanju wrote an open letter to President Bola Tinubu over devastating flooding in Abuja.
- The lawyer warns that Abuja's master plan is under threat from development on green areas, drainage corridors, and waterways.
- FEMA has identified multiple communities, including Lokogoma, Maitama, Wuse, Garki, and Gwarinpa, as flood-prone zones.
- Adeyanju urges the President to order a comprehensive review of land allocations across the Federal Capital Territory.
An Open Letter to the President
Human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju has written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, calling for immediate federal intervention as flooding continues to destabilize Nigeria's capital. The letter, titled 'Open Letter to President Bola Tinubu Regarding the Recent Flooding in Abuja and the Threat to Nigeria's Capital City,' warns that the city can no longer treat severe flooding as a mere consequence of heavy rainfall.
Adeyanju stressed that areas which historically avoided major flooding are now increasingly vulnerable. Homes have been submerged, roads rendered impassable, and residents left to navigate a city that appears unprepared for climate-driven extremes.
The Master Plan Under Threat
The lawyer reminded the President that Abuja was designed as a modern capital with green areas, parks, gardens, drainage corridors, canals, and waterways integrated into its master plan. These spaces were never meant to be purely aesthetic. They serve critical environmental functions, including flood control and ecological balance.
Today, however, that vision is crumbling. Green spaces originally preserved under the Abuja Master Plan have been converted or allocated for residential and commercial developments. Adeyanju argues this is a direct cause of the flooding crisis now gripping the city.
A City on the Edge
According to Adeyanju, the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Department has identified several flood-prone communities, including Lokogoma, EFAB, iPent Estates, Galadimawa, Dogon-Gada, Lugbe, Maitama, Wuse, Garki, Central Business District, Asokoro, Guzape, Gwarinpa, Nyanya, Kubwa, Wari, Gwagwalada, Damagaza, Mabushi, Anthony Ikem Street, Blue Cabana axis, Kuje, Kwali, Abaji, and Yangoji.
He described the situation as an emergency, noting that relatively ordinary rainfall should not suddenly turn major residential and commercial districts into flood zones. Abuja hosts the Presidency, the National Assembly, the judiciary, foreign embassies, international organizations, and millions of residents. Its condition has implications far beyond the territory's borders.
Adeyanju specifically warned that if development continues to consume drainage corridors and waterways, even areas around Aso Rock could eventually face flooding. He urged President Tinubu to direct a comprehensive review of land allocations within designated green spaces, parks, gardens, drainage corridors, canals, and waterways across the FCT.
Why This Matters
Abuja's flooding crisis is not just an infrastructural failure; it is a direct consequence of decades of planning violations and environmental neglect. Without urgent presidential intervention to restore the city's natural flood defenses, the capital's long-term viability remains in serious jeopardy.