Environment
NO fewer than eight buildings, vehicles, motorcycles and household items were among properties swept away on Tuesday, June 20, during about six-hour downpour in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. Several parts of the city were also submerged.
Though no lives were reported lost, the flood destroyed valuables worth millions of Naira as the torrential, which started from early hours of between 3:00 am and 9:00.
Analysts said that the incident brought back the memory of the August 26, 2011 flood disaster.
The state government, in anticipation of a flood disaster, spent millions of naira to dredge rivers and streams. But the measures failed on Tuesday as water channels overflowed their banks and flooded a good number of areas in the city.
The Ogunpa River channels, dredged in the 1980s during the administration of the late Bola Ige after the Ogunpa flood disaster, could not contain the flow of water, which spilled over as long as the rain lasted.
Some of those affected were a Celestial Church of Christ at Orogun and the University of Ibadan axis of the city, which were submerged in flood water.
Witness said one person was trapped in the deluge but was quickly rescued by sympathisers and men of the state fire service.
According to residents, a bulldozer belonging to a contractor dredging the Orogun River was swept away and hung under a bridge, which was submerged by the flood.
At Gbekuba, Oke-Ayo, Odo-Ona, Gada and Omi-Adio in Ido Local Government Area, where Governor Abiola Ajimobi hails from, homes and farmlands were submerged by the flood.
The flood made the Ibadan-Abeokuta Expressway at Omi-Adio impassable.
Most traders at the popular Omi-Adio Market lost their goods; the abandoned Magistrates’ Court was submerged by the flood.
At Olodo in Ibadan, eight houses were reportedly submerged. Vehicles and motorcycles were swept away while many residents were sacked from their homes.
Adisa Isola, state commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, said the government made efforts to avert the incident, and blamed the flooding on those who built houses and shops on water channels.
He said: “Many people are complying with environmental laws in the state now. We started preparing for this in December 2016 through a World Bank assisted project. Fourteen rivers and streams were dredged. This year, we have dredged 36 streams and rivers.
“This cannot be repeated every year because it is just a palliative measure. That is why we are working on three master plans for Ibadan that will take care of this issue.
“The attitude of our people is responsible for this flooding. They have refused to obey the setback rules and instead, they build houses on river channels. It puts pressure on the drainage channels.”
Oluwole Olusegun, public relations officer of the Oyo State Command of the NSCDC, disclosed that a team, led by John Adewoye, the state commandant, rescued many people who were trapped in the floods.
Nevertheless, he said: “Some people were, however, adamant on staying in their homes until the water subsided.”
— Jun 21, 2017 @ 12:47 GMT
Tags: Adisa Isola Environment and Water Resources Floods Devastate Ibadan Again Ibadan-Abeokuta Ido Local Government Area Oyo State capital
