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Hurricane Katrina: When Nigeria Became an Example to America BySokore Collins Erebi
Hurricane as widely described by meteorologist, is a violent windstorm (with speed above 140 mph) arising from a complex inter-play of natural elements. From earthquakes to tsunamis, the world has experienced natural disasters with great loss to human lives and damages to physical infrastructures.
Accordingly, the hurricane named Katrina which bashed the Gulf Coast of the United States of America was predictably expected to make landfall with monumental damages. As widely reported, the likelihood of such a disaster had been severally simulated and all stakeholders from local council to federal authority knew their responsibilities for the rescue and clean up of affected areas.
It is with this underlying fact that the world watched with utter shame and disgust that the American government which hurriedly “de-Talibanized” Afghanistan and “de-WMDed Iraq” from the monstrous Saddam Hussein on a short notice could not respond to the social emergency need of Americans in America soil.
Hurricane Katrina thus became a sore point on the invulnerable position and primus inter pares credential of the United Sates of America since the Second World War. With a precognition of hurricane Katrina hitting the Gulf States, the leadership of the almighty United States goofed by failing to be proactive. As customary with developed nations , The federal Emergency Management agency (FEMA) of the US which is saddled with emergency rescue , acted irresponsibly as seen in the prevarication of the director general, Michael Brown holding press briefings while Americans were riotously buried under waters in the Gulf states of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.
Several reasons have being adduced for this failure- refusal of the governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco to allow the federal authority take control of the national guards and other rescue agencies; lack of a central command system for emergency efforts, level of poverty in the affected areas; the ethnic background of a large population of residents in the Gulf sates.
Truthfully, the obvious reason why hurricane Katrina made a landfall with such damages is that humanism has being globally commercialized. A background study of the city of New Orleans shows that the city is mainly inhabited by poor and low class black Americans (not Africans in diaspora)
Other notable facts of New Orleans area, are that , 30% of coffee consumed in the US is shipped through the area; 70% of crude Oil production and refining activities are in the Gulf states; one third of the population lie below poverty level and has educational qualifications less than high school certificate.
By analogy, we can liken the US Gulf states to Lagos and coastal states of the Niger Delta of Nigeria. Politically, as with Louisiana and the US federal government, Lagos state is governed by an opposition party against the ruling Peoples Democratic Party at the federal level. The Nigerianness in the US attitude is made more manifest by the reaction of the gauche leaders to a disaster of such magnitude.
It is open knowledge that if the Atlantic Ocean overruns the whole of Lagos Island as it frequently does with the bar beach, the morbid National Emergency management Agency (NEMA) modelled after the FEMA in the US, would frivol away like we have seen from other interventionist agencies – PPRA, FERMA, etc.
As would be expected, we would see the local council officials in Hummer jeeps on the street of Abuja and the state government cry by rote to the whole world that they will resist any declaration of a state of emergency and possibly mobilize the antediluvian OPC to fight the federal hegemony for declaring the state a disaster zone.
If New Orleans is the Island, it is obvious that the death toll would be in two digit thousands. Afterall, hundreds of people die when river arteries flood rural communities as recently seen in Taraba state. A leadership that cannot cater for its population in ordinary situation would definitely become moronic in an emergency.
It is therefore not surprising that with the precognition of the disastrous hurricane, residents of New Orleans and Biloxi were not evacuated. Most displaced people interviewed said they had no money to evacuate or no place to move to. Before now, it was erroneously believed the US authorities would cater for such categories of Americans but the reverse was the case. No agency or individual to foot the bill. Imagine if one-hundredth of the suggested $200billion for relief effort and rebuilding was used to evacuate and duly empower the evacuees, the world would have audaciously responded with great éclat. Certainly, world leaders are plainly soulless and crazily profit-oriented not minding the attendant effects of their actions.
A similar scenario is currently on display in Nigeria. The world’s sixth largest exporter of crude Oil is at a crossroad over prices of petroleum products. A case of commercialization of government and welfare. While citizens of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Oman and war-torn Iraq are currently excited over the price of $65/barrel of crude oil, Nigerians are gnashing their teeth and wailing in pains on how to survive the hurricane-like prices of petroleum products (300% increase in the past 4yrs).
The racial Undertone in the Katrina rescue effort came to the forefront when celebrities like Kanya West said “ George Bush does not care for blacks”, Censorious congressional black caucus condemned media houses for describing partially –drowned black evacuees with supplies as looters and white victims as searching for food.
It is ironic that a Nation that prides herself as God’s own country would condescend so low and watch fellow Americans perish in such circumstance. Their only offence being that they are poor and have black skin. It became more embarrassing when hurricane Katrina was compared to Tsunami of Asia Pacific by American officials. The later ravaged nations yet the poor people were united in their effort to overcome the disastrous aftermath.
Over the years, we have seen Nigerians especially people of the Niger Delta subjected to such destructions. Their offence is that the land is Oil rich and they are a minority in a nation that recognizes only a tripodal lingua group with no spirit of nationhood. Again, in the 60’s, the East was mercilessly weakened and the leadership of the nation is presently united in the suppression of the legitimate demand of the people.
The seemingly consanguinity is even reflected in resolution of elections. The America presidential elections some years age , was resolved at the supreme court like the Nigerian election in 1999 and 2003. It is pertinent to state that both elections cannot be compared. While the former was reasonably free and fair, The later was scandalously rigged in what was described as a fraudulent landslide victory. Only recently, Nigerians have watched with awe the Tsunami rally of the iniquitous Peoples Democratic Party and hopelessly awaiting “hurricanic” electoral victory come 2007.
For Nigerians who are used to non-performing government, the pictures of Americans who rootle about for comestibles, loot shops and houses was ridiculous because it is believed that Nigeria is a byword for such social misadventures. Quite surprisingly, evacuees carried our famous “Ghana must go” bags. Residents of Warri, the oil-city, know how important and priceless the bag can be when it comes to disaster: man-made or natural.
Knowing the brevity of human life, the response of the international community in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina is cheering despite the ignominious disposition of the American government. Of note, is the symbolic widow’s myth of $25,000 from tsunami devastated Sri-Lanka, $5million quixotic donation from Nigerians and the ingratiating $1million by the Nigerian government – the heart beat of Africa. Sounds paradoxical I guess.
The show of Sympathy as lavishly expressed for the victims of Hurricane Katrina should thus be extended to the vast number of poor helpless people in the world. A world united against disasters must be united against oppressive and draconian policies of despotic and corrupt leaders. For both, breeds despair, diseases, loss of properties and lives.
It is an understatement to state that most Africans are living in worst situations as exist in new Orleans, Louisiana and Biloxi, Mississippi. A visit to the coastline of Nigeria, traversing Awka Ibom to Delta States would make the aftermath of hurricane Katrina a gibe experience.
Communities are submerged yearly in flood waters without any intervention from the local and state government not to mention NEMA and the federal government. Yet oil exploration and production is continually on the increase with its attendant oil pollution to land and aquatic life, thus completing the cycle of devastation of the poorest Nigerians who are the owners of the richest land in Africa.
To forestall such reoccurrence of arriere-pense, governments of the world must know that nations with poor, discriminated and marginalized people, threaten world peace and the continual promotion of the global agenda as aptly elucidated by the Clinton global Initiative and UN’s Millennium Development Goals: eradicating poverty, eliminating terrorism and fostering sustainable environmental development.
Sokore Collins Erebi Warri, Nigeria
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