Legal Framework for Disaster Management in Nigeria

Human beings and the environment relate to each other dialectically. The positive and negative consequences of this relationship are attributable to the human quest for development. Laws and regulations serve as foundation for building community resilience. Disaster management laws are essential for reducing existing risks posed by natural and man-made disasters, preventing new risks from arising and making people safer. The objective of the study is to determine whether the application of existing legal framework in Nigeria contributes to prevention, mitigation, response and recovery from disaster and evaluate its adequacy thereof. From our findings, legislation is the crux of disaster management, thus, lack of proactive legislation in disaster management and adequate implementation of those laws has lead to higher magnitude of disaster which would ordinarily have been prevented or minimized had the law taken its full course. The writer recommends improved coordination between disaster management agencies, a proactive shift from post disaster reaction to pre-disaster preparation and the need for adequate funding and training of staff of agencies.