Indigenous environmental knowledge and flood resilience in Nigeria: a comparative study across ethnolinguistic communities

Purpose Indigenous Environmental Knowledge (IEK) remains central to disaster risk reduction in many African communities; however, its contribution to flood resilience, especially across different cultural groups, is under-examined in Nigeria. Previous Nigerian flood research has concentrated on physical and infrastructural drivers, with little comparative attention to how cultural knowledge systems vary across ethnolinguistic groups. This study addresses this gap by comparing how IEK shapes flood anticipation, interpretation, and response across nine communities representing the Yorùbá of Ogun State, the Nupe of Kwara State, and the Igbo of Enugu State. Design/methodology/approach Between January and March 2025, data were collected through 36 focus group discussions with 362 participants, including men, women, youth, and persons with disabilities. Data were analysed thematically and complemented by participatory ranking of practices. Findings Findings reveal that IEK shapes flood response through three interrelated domains: practical engineering improvisations (drainage clearing, wooden bridges, sandbags, canoes), collective labour mobilized through culturally embedded governance systems (bell-ringing summons, emirate structures, kinship obligations), and spiritual-ethical practices tied to cosmology and land (ritual offerings, water-use taboos, ecological early-warning indicators). Ecological indicators such as fish species, frogs, rainfall patterns, and tree phenology remain widely used but increasingly blend with radio and phone alerts. Despite recurring losses, destroyed crops, contaminated water, damaged homes, communities across all three groups consistently refuse relocation, citing ancestral identity, livelihoods, and spiritual obligations to land. Originality/value The findings suggest that, in these settings, IEK operates as an integrated system linking technical adaptation, collective governance, and moral-ecological meaning, offering culturally grounded pathways for disaster resilience. Integrating these knowledge systems into formal flood governance could strengthen community-centred anticipatory action in Nigeria.