Flooding: Orozo residents worry as rainy season sets in

Residents of Anguwan Dogo, Orozo, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, are worried that the only road linking them with other parts of the FCT will be flooded when the rains begin as it has claimed lives and properties in the past. Aso Chronicle gathered that the community, neighbouring Karshi, FCT, has […]

Residents of Anguwan Dogo, Orozo, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, are worried that the only road linking them with other parts of the FCT will be flooded when the rains begin as it has claimed lives and properties in the past.

Aso Chronicle gathered that the community, neighbouring Karshi, FCT, has only one route leading to it and the people have been struggling to contain flood which yearly washes part of the road, thereby disrupting their socio-economic activities and, at times, claiming the lives of people plying it.

The Vice Chairman of Anguwan Dogo Orozo Community Development Association, Johnson Alabi, said the residents suffer a lot on the road since the inception of the settlement. He said the community is located on low land and that water flowed from different communities upland and flood their only road.

“Residents of the community are expressing concern because the rainy season is already approaching. When it rains, water flows from the uphill communities down to our community because our place is in the low land. The water that amasses would flood the road, thereby causing hardship to residents.

“We have been here for over 10 years but since then nothing like road or drainage has been constructed by the government. When it rains, the flooding forces every movement to a halt. Last year, the water carried away an old man who tried to cross the road after rain. He didn’t know it was deep and forceful. It was some youths in the community that rescued him. My son was also a victim of this perennial flooding,” he added.

The leader of the community, Alhaji Musa Barako, said since the inception of the community, the residents who are mostly civil servants have not enjoyed good road as their only option is filled with potholes.

“Most of the residents are civil servants and we have to go to work every day. When it rains, we hardly find our way out of the community. This is why we reach our workplaces late. It is also affecting our children in going to school. Whenever there is a flood, the whole community would be cut off and people would be stranded for hours,” he explained.

On his part, an elder in the community, Akor Daniel, said whenever the road is flooded, it becomes difficult for women in labour to go to the hospital.

“My house is closest to the waterway and whenever the flood comes, I become scared of not knowing what may happen to my house. The flood is scary. There is no how one can pass here when the flood comes”.

Some of the residents who spoke to Aso Chronicle narrated their experiences on the road, stressing that the waterway becomes a threat to commuters during the rainy season.

A resident, Alagbo Muftau Olatunji, said “I have been living here for the past eight years. The time I bought my house here was during the dry season and I didn’t know the road was like this. There was a day that rain started falling at 6 am. I was ready to go to work but the rain didn’t stop until 11 am. So that day I couldn’t go to work at all.”

Also, Rose Emmanuel, a resident, lamented that the state of the road has made it a death trap which had claimed lives and properties of people in the community.

“This is the only road we have that leads to the community. It is in a bad shape, such that even in the dry season, it spoils vehicles plying it. During last year’s rainy season, the flood washed away some vehicles leading to the death of three people.”

Another resident, Blessing Daniel, said “Whenever the rainy season approaches, residents of the community become worried of the difficulty the waterway on the road is causing to commuters. The road is a nightmare when it rains.”

Akpan Daniel who also resides in the community said, “If it rains, residents who have gone out of the community have to wait for hours for the water to finish flowing before coming back home. Sometimes they have to look for somewhere to sleep till the next day.”

The Secretary of the residents’ association, Adeniyi Adewale, told Aso Chronicle that the community has been reaching out to leaders to come to their aid but without response thus far.

“We have written to our leaders at various levels. We have written to the senator representing our constituency, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the AMAC but up to now there is nothing done to ameliorate our plight,” he said.

Adewale said teams of engineers were sent twice by the FCT Minister and the AMAC chairman to assess the road but nothing has been done.

“Our worry now is that the meteorological agency warns Abuja residents that there will be flood during this rainy season. This has heightened fear in the people of the community.

“The entire community will be happy if the government constructs a bridge that will ease the danger of the waterway and also reduce the plight of the commuters on the road,” the residents’ association scribe added.

He said the community has been making efforts to grade the road and build minor drainages but each year, the rainy season would destroy all their efforts.

He appealed to the government to construct a bridge so that the water will flow under it and the road would be safe for the residents to ply. He added that apart from the bridge, the road into the community is also dilapidated and appealed that the government constructs the road and drainage to ameliorate their sufferings.