Long Shadows of Flood

Fri, Jul 19, 2013

By publisher

5 MIN READ

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There is growing fear among residents of Agbede community in Ikorodu, Lagos, that their area will be flooded if government does not take action

|  By Anayo Ezugwu  |  Jul. 29, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT

FOR Ademolu Kayode, a resident of Agbede community in Ikorodu, Lagos State, every raining season is a nightmare to him and the people of the community. The area is often flooded during the rainy season because of the water draining from neighbouring villages like Ori-Okuta, Igbo-Olomu and LASPOTECH axis, emptying into their community. Consequently, the valley in the area is flood and the residents are trapped in their homes. Those who had left their home before the rain are kept outside.

He said the state government has not been fair to residents of the community, saying the situation had been that way for more than five years. “It’s quite sad to see that our road is like this. We’ve been experiencing an annual carnival of flooding here for about five to six years now and it is so bad that people have to leave their houses by 4:00 a.m. just to get out early enough,” he said.

Another resident who gave her name as Oguneye, blamed the state government for the annual flooding.  She bemoaned the fact that since she moved to the area with her family more than six years ago, the road had been bad, but not as bad as what is being currently experienced. Oguneye added that the state government had neglected residents of the area probably because the place is remote and not easily accessible.

“I’ve been here with my family for well over six years and this road has been like this. Nothing has been done up till this moment and it’s a testament to the fact that we’re being sidelined in this part of the state. A solution must be worked out as soon as possible so that it doesn’t go beyond this, because it gets worse every year. Look at me, I’m a nursing mother, how do you expect me to cope with this dangerous way of crossing from one side of the road to another in a canoe?” she lamented.

Tunji Bello, commissioner for environment, said that those living on flood plains, low-line areas and other riverine areas have to be extremely careful in the coming months. “As we approach the second half of the year, Lagos residents are being alerted to prepare for high-intensity rains with accompanying wind and thunderstorms from the month of July. As the intensity of the rain increases, Lagosians are advised not to panic whenever it rains as they will experience accumulated water concentration on some parts of the roads and highways, depending on the intensity of the rains. Lagosians are, however, assured that the accumulated water will recede in no time,” he said.

According to him, the downpour since January has raised the water level in the state, thus weakening the retention capacity of the soil. Bello, however, assured that whatever level of flash floods recorded during the rains, will gradually be discharged within 24 hours after, adding that the drainage channels had been cleared to accommodate large volumes of storm water.

The commissioner explained that Lagos, being a coastal state, cannot but be susceptible to flash floods anytime there is torrential rainfall, adding: “However, what is of utmost importance to this administration is to ensure that whatever flash flood experienced is effectively discharged through the channels that have been dredged and cleaned up in anticipation of this year’s rain. Lagos residents are further encouraged to relate effectively with deployed resident engineers and drainage maintenance officers whose phone numbers were recently published in the print and electronic media, for the public to alert them whenever they have flooding challenges.”

He urged Lagosians to be safety-conscious in the days ahead, advising them to avoid going out during the rains unless such could not be avoided. Restating that his ministry had intensified its mid-rain cleaning and maintenance programme, Bello assured that the government would not relent until zero tolerance was attained on flooding in the state.

The federal government has also concluded plans to build new dams across the River Benue as part of measures to prevent loss of lives and properties. Sarah Ochekpe, minister of water resources, said the government decision was based on its desire to save Nigerians from the debilitating effects of flood. She also revealed that the government had instructed engineers managing the existing dams in the country to start the process of gradual release of water in the dams, so as to increase their capacity to absorb fresh water during rainy season.

She explained that the government had deemed it fit to build new dams across River Benue because of the fact that 60 percent of the water volume in Nigeria came from the river. According to her, River Niger already had enough dams that helped to control flood, adding that the flood witnessed last year was not as a result of those collapse  dams as claimed in some quarters.

“After the flooding last year, we went to Cameroon to discuss on when they will be opening their dams. They have already assured us that they will be informing us appropriately before they release the dams. We have already instructed our engineers to start releasing the water in the dams gradually in earnest. This is part of dams control mechanism,” she said, adding that the sum of $14.5 billion would be needed to confront the problems of the shrinking Lake Chad in the North Eastern part of the country.