The federal government has warned of the emerging threats of water insecurity, flooding, drought and poor sanitation to Nigeria’s national security, with 1,249 communities across 176 local council areas in 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) identified as high flood-risk areas.

Giving the warning yesterday at the National Defence College, Abuja, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, called for a formal integration of water security into Nigeria’s national security architecture.

Utsev, in a lecture titled “Water Resources Management and Sanitation as Catalysts for Sustainable National Development and Security in Nigeria,” said water could no longer be treated merely as a development concern.

He emphasised that inadequate access to safe water and sanitation, climate-induced flooding and drought could trigger public health emergencies, displacements, competition over resources, livelihood disruption and resource-based conflicts.

He further described irrigation as critical to food security, with the changing rainfall patterns increasingly threatening rain-fed agriculture.

According to him, about 154,000 hectares of irrigable land currently benefit over 1.6 million farmers, with the government working to expand irrigation coverage.

Responding, the Commandant of the National Defence College, Rear Admiral Abdullahi Ahmed, said flooding, drought and resource-based conflicts were major security concerns. He urged greater utilisation of Nigeria’s freshwater resources and stronger international cooperation in managing shared water systems.