Housing reconstruction following the 2012 Nigerian floods: Was it built back better?

Abstract

The recently agreed Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 calls for reducing the exposure and vulnerability of communities and thus preventing the creation of new disaster risks. It specifically identifies the need to use post-disaster reconstruction to "Build Back Better" and thus emphasizes the strategic importance of housing reconstruction in achieving disaster resilience. In the 2012 flooding in Nigeria, 7.7 million people were affected, 363 fatalities were recorded and approximately 600 000 houses were damaged or destroyed. This disaster greatly worsened an already existing housing deficit thereby placing huge pressure on all levels of government to address the sharp increase in housing demand. This research assesses the performance of the post-flood housing reconstruction programme in Lokoja, Kogi State, Nigeria. It identifies the efforts made to enable affected communities to achieve improved disaster resilience after the event and compares these to the Build Back Better expectations under the new Sendai Framework. Qualitative data were collected from stakeholder interviews, project documents and reports and personal observations in the field. The findings indicate that, while some aspects of Build Back Better were implemented in this particular case, others were not and so the reconstruction programme in Lokoja fell short of the Sendai Framework's Build Back Better expectations.