Nigerian farmer Enoch Fater has barely slept in the last few days after water levels started rising at his paddy rice farm and in a major river nearby, pointing to impending floods in Benue state, a major food producer in the central belt.

STORY: For Alagoa Morris, the trauma of repeated flooding is all too familiar. He says his home and office in southern Nigeria's Bayelsa state gets hit by floods every rainy season.The consequences: property loss and weeks of homelessness for his family.

Nigeria's hydrological services agency has warned of potential flooding in 11 states after neighbouring Cameroon said it was starting to release water from one of its largest dams following recent heavy rainfall in West and Central Africa.