Flooding has always been part of nature’s invasion of the earth man has had to contend with right from the earliest days of the earth’s existence.

From the days of Noah till today, it has remained a constant phenomenon in the life of man, and despite attempts made from age to age, the phenomenon has remained as there is little man can do when nature decides to unleash herself in whatever form.

Last week, videos and images of the damage in some parts of arguably one of the largest markets in Africa, the Ariaria International Market, surfaced online and, expectedly, sparked reactions from commentators across the board.

What surprised this writer was the vitriolic political dimension the reactions took and the partisan narratives are given the incident by some of those who reacted to it. Some chose to deliberately forget that heavy rainfall, especially in this period of the year and given the worsening climate change is a global phenomenon that man, no matter how advanced, cannot control but can only ameliorate its consequences.

In Florida for example, it was reported per floodlist.com that heavy rainfall on Wednesday, September 28, 2022, had “buildings ripped from foundations floating in stormy waters” leaving thousands fleeing to shelters and to other safe areas. It is the same in other parts of the world.

Back home in Nigeria, according to a report by The Guardian quoting authorities of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), “The floods in 27 of Nigeria’s 36 states and capital city have affected half a million people, including 100,000 displaced and more than 500 injured.”

It also quoted authorities as “blaming the floods this year on water overflowing from local rivers, unusual rainfalls and the release of excess water from Lagdo dam in neighbouring Cameroun’s northern region.”

Specifically, the report quoted the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency as saying that there will be “more floods in 2022 than last year due to ‘‘excessive rainfalls and contributions from external flows’’ such as the dam in Cameroon.”

However, among all the states affected by the heavy rainfalls, it is only in Abia that opposition elements have politicised the issue and attempted, though vainly, to make it look like the government in power deliberately conjured up the rains against her people.

The Ariaria incident is most unfortunate and the flood victims deserve our sympathy, and where possible, our assistance, both as individuals and institutions, and not use their situation to play banal politics.

Meanwhile, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has shown enormous visible commitment to the control of floods in the city. It is therefore not surprising that the traders, despite the disaster that befell them, resoundingly applauded the governor while he was empathising with them.

• Michael Nwabueze, an environmental expert, wrote from Umuahia.