Fear grips Lagos residents over impending flood

In Lagos State, it’s mixed feelings as residents expect heavy rainfall in the months ahead. Experiences of the residents from downpours had been tales of woes and anguish, with losses of properties worth millions of naira, and even lives. There hasn’t been heavy rainfall yet in Lagos this year, though there had been occasions of […]

In Lagos State, it’s mixed feelings as residents expect heavy rainfall in the months ahead. Experiences of the residents from downpours had been tales of woes and anguish, with losses of properties worth millions of naira, and even lives.

There hasn’t been heavy rainfall yet in Lagos this year, though there had been occasions of showers since January when the first rain fell and intermittent rainfalls across the state in the subsequent months of February, March and April.

Based on the prediction by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Lagos is among the states that would experience late onset of rainfall.

That prediction was enough to set residents on edge with the fear that the rains could be heavy from June till the dying months of the year.

Even despite the light rainfall, some parts of the state have already started experiencing flooding. The Allen-Opebi and Awolowo Road, Ikeja, axes are always flood-prone and residents of those areas had already witnessed flooding of the major roads there this year from light rains.

“If it rains heavily for 10, 15 months, the whole of this place is shut down,” said a shop owner, who identified himself as Goodluck, at Allen-Opebi road. Our correspondent reports that the water channel in the area is usually over-flooded and the road completely submerged anytime it rains. The road becomes impassable not only for motorists, but also for pedestrians.

Also, the vital Akilo road, where the Latter Rain Assembly is located and which links Ogba with Ikeja, is not yet flood-free despite the expensive, wide drainage system that traverses Wempo, Acme and Universal roads, which the Babatunde Raji Fashola administration constructed to contain the ravaging floods.

Our correspondent’s visit to the area showed a number of wide gullies said to have been caused by the effects of flooding associated with torrential rain. In this area, residents are apprehensive that the situation might be worse if the appropriate authorities did not act on time.

“The last time we had a major rain, the whole of Akilo road was submerged and it became difficult to connect Agege from ASCON,” said a resident of Agege.

Our correspondent also reports that it’s not only parts of the Lagos mainland that are susceptible to flood. The Lagos Island has been identified as one of the flashy points during heavy rains because of its proximity to the ocean. From Lagos Island, Ikoyi-Obalende, Lekki and Eti-Osa down to Epe, there are fears of imminent flooding disaster if preventive measures were not quickly taken.

A former Commissioner for the Environment in the Fashola administration, Prince Adesegun Oniru, warned at a recent event, of impending danger of flooding unless appropriate preventive measures were taken to forestall the problem.

Oniru said, “Few months before the commencement of the rainy season, the government should have cleared all the drainage systems. We need to carry out desilting of the drainages and to clear the drainages now to stop flooding, especially in Victoria Island.

“The construction of the Eko Atlantic City helped in cushioning the effect. Without the Eko Atlantic City, there would have been no more Victoria Island because of the effects of climate change. The Atlantic would have joined the lagoon. So Eko Atlantic has really saved Victoria Island.”

The Chairman of Eti-Osa Local Government, Mr Saheed Bankole, told our correspondent yesterday that the council experienced the worst cases of flooding in 2017, but had since then taken preventive measures to guard against flood.

“Particularly, we started clearing the primary and secondary canals to ensure free flow of water,” Bankole said.

Eti-Osa local government, he said, was working in harmony with the state government, the federal government represented by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other relevant agencies to address the issue of flood.

“As far as we are concerned, we believe we are one government and everybody is involved. That is why we have cooperated with the federal and state governments. We always manage all inner roads. Check our drainages. Currently, we are doing serious clearing of drainages in many areas. From Total petrol station to the lagoon, we are clearing the drainage. We believe we should not wait until flooding happens,” he said.

An environmental sustainability expert, Mr Taiwo Adewole, also charged the state and local governments to commence early clearing of drainages to prevent flood.

Of particular concern to Adewole was the need for residents to stop patronizing roadside refuse collectors, whom he said only collect waste from various homes for a fee and dump the heaps in canals. This development, he said, was counter-productive and capable of exposing the state to flooding.

He said, “So the state government and local governments need to start clearing their drainages and ensuring they evacuate the waste immediately. In most cases, when they clear the drainage, they leave the waste by the roadside and keep it there.

“And after sometime, it falls back into the drainage. They need to start clearing especially plastic items because plastic items don’t decay. They are always in there. And they also need to look at the type of drainages they are constructing. Are they constructing an open drainage system whereby waste can easily be evacuated, or they are constructing a closed system where it would be difficult for waste to get in?”

Daily Trust could not get the response of the state government. The Commissioner for the Environment, Babatunde Etti, said drainage issues drainage were not within his purview and directed our correspondent to the Public Works Department.

Contacted, the spokesman of the Lagos State Public Works Corporation, Mr Yomi Oladapo, promised to get back to our correspondent once the Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Works was available.

The Agege Local Government responded to an inquiry from our correspondent that it had embarked on massive desilting of drains in the area and evacuation of refuse.

It has equally stepped up sensitisation of the residents to the dangers inherent in indiscriminate dumping of refuse anywhere.