Bitter tale of Lagos flood victims

Rain is a blessing from God to mankind, plants and animals but it ceases to be a blessing when it becomes destructive.

While some anticipate the rainy season with so much joy, others approach the season with so much fear and anxiety based on their past experiences with flooding. Floods cause harm to people physically, emotionally and also economically. 

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The experience of many Lagosians last weekend was traumatic and devastating following the torrential rainfall that flooded many parts of the state and swept away human beings, animals as well as submerged properties such as vehicles and houses among others; displacing many from their homes. The fence of Ile-Epo dump site was pulled down by the flood, exposing residents and road users to untold hardship and health hazards. The flood also exposed the poor condition of the roads in the state as potholes were seen in most of them, including roads recently built or repaired by the government.

The Zonal Coordinator, South West of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, disclosed that the flooding that occurred in Lagos State last weekend claimed seven lives, including three children of the same parent and four adults. 

Farinloye explained that the three siblings who lost their lives were residing at a church building belonging to Mercy of Christ Apostolic Church, situated in an uncompleted building. The siblings, Michael, 18; Elizabeth, 17 and Timi, 14, according to him, were swept away while trying to relocate from their room to the main church structure.

Daily Trust gathered that a 26-year-old man, Seyi Oluwalambe, but popularly called ‘last born’ was among those swept away by last Saturday’s flood at the canal on Oyatoki Street, Orile Agege. 

It was gathered that Seyi had a ram in the car, which he was taking to his mum for the Sallah celebration.

A youth in the area told our reporter that the late Seyi was in the car with two of his friends when they encountered the flood. “Upon sighting the flood, one of them jumped out of the car and was rescued while the other two were swept away. Their bodies were found two days later at Oju-Odo, close to Pleasure bus stop after Iyana Ipaja in Lagos.

He affirmed that it wasn’t the first time they were experiencing flooding in the area, but noted that the effect of the recent one was devastating, which he blamed on the ongoing expansion work and drainage construction by the canal.

While the flood claimed lives, it also destroyed residents’ possessions. An apprentice mechanic at Mangoro area of Ikeja, Saheed Obafemi, narrated how flood destroyed his belongings in the one-room apartment he manages with his colleagues. 

Obafemi, whose house backs the Cement canal, said it has become a recurring incident anytime the canal gets filled up as the water flows into streets and houses in the area.

“We were forced to leave the house as the entire compound was flooded; the water swept away some of our belongings like clothes, recharge cards, cash and some of our work tools. Ordinarily, we would have packed out and looked for another apartment, but renting a house in Lagos costs a fortune,” he said.

Mr. Ibrahim Mohammed, whose car was submerged by the flood at Ikeja area, said he had to change the brain box of his Lexus RX 350 and some other features in the car which had cost him over N300,000.

“It was a very serious situation because my car was parked at the mechanic workshop for some minor repairs when the flood came. All the cars parked there were submerged because the mechanic could not help the situation,” he said.

A 77-year-old Customs retiree, Mr. Michael Ogedengbe, whose house was submerged around Ile-Epo area, said he has been living in the area since 2001. Despite being a swampy area, he said there was not much flood in the area at that time. 

“After my coming here, the development of the area from the gutters around brought water to this area. It got worse with the reconstruction of the vandalized pipeline and destruction of houses that trespassed. When I bought this place in 1999, I paid in instalment and started developing the place until water came, and gradually escalated to what we have today. The canal in the area was dredged at that time after which the caterpillar got stuck and as a result of efforts to pull it out, the canal was vandalized. Eventually, after removing the caterpillar, the canal was left without repair, leading to flood which spreads all over the area during the rainy season. 

“Government had decided to expand the shallow canal but keeps postponing. In fact, at some point, government officials brought their equipment from Alausa to the area, yet, nothing has been done. The situation is worse now because when the flood comes, it stays for a long period because it comes through the windows and doors. Sometimes, I pay young boys over N10,000 to help me evacuate the water but sometimes after doing the work, the boys threaten to attack by demanding for more money. So now, I evacuate the water myself, which gives me a lot of stress and body pain,” lamented the septuagenarian. 

He accused the state government of going one step forward and two steps backward. “I want work at the canal completed as soon as possible because we are all fed up and the experience is devastating. Many tenants have taken me to court as a result of the flood and I have been made to refund rents in the police station. You can imagine my situation when I am supposed to be relaxing and enjoying myself at old age,” he lamented.

Superior Evangelist Sunday Ajayi, of Oke-Odo Celestial Church of Christ at Daniel Fafunmi Street in Lagos whose fence was pulled down by the flood, said it was the third time he was experiencing such in the area even though he has been living there for close to 30 years. 

“When I moved into this area, there was nothing like flood. During the administration of Governor Fashola, the canal was dredged and channelled. Although we are far from the canal, those building close to the canal make it narrow, thus exposing us to flood. Anytime it rains, we leave home until the rain stops and the water flows away but this last one was disastrous. 

“Government officials had come to mark some houses near the canal for demolition but up till now, the houses are still there and that is why we have continued to suffer because the presence of those houses makes the canal narrow. If government says it is going to do a thing, it is important to do it without any delay.

“Such delays give the people involved the opportunity to do all manner of things to stop the government from carrying out its plan. You see people praying and fasting, some even go as far as burying some charms under the ground, all in a bid to stop the government from demolishing the houses,” Pastor Ajayi said as he disclosed that he has so far spent over N310,000 on erecting his destroyed fence.

The Lagos State government has however come under condemnation following the recent flood incidents in the state as the Special Adviser to the Governor on Drainage and Water Resources, Joe Igbokwe, was accused of non-performance.

Though Lagos is a flood prone area, residents said the devasting effects of the flood can be managed if the drainages are well attended to by the relevant agencies. He was accused on twitter of abandoning his job while attacking perceived opposition to APC on social media.

Reacting, Igbokwe apologized to citizens but decried indiscriminate dumping of refuse by residents. He said, “We share the pain with those affected. Lagos is a coastal city that is prone to flood. Lagos has the smallest land mass in Nigeria with 23 million Nigerians.

“Some people have built houses on lands that were meant to contain floods. To make matters worse, some Lagosians dump refuse inside drains or canals. We have wetlands which serve as reservoirs to retain excess floods but Lagosians will defy the law and erect buildings there. Such structures make it difficult and impossible to clear the drains,” he said while advising residents to have a change of attitude.

Igbokwe further disclosed that the state government spends huge sums of money on cleaning of canals and aligning many of them with concrete annually. He however assured that the state will continue to do its best in matters of flood management. 

According to researchgate, causes of urban flooding are global climate change; poor urban planning including poor drainage facilities and development in flood plains; urbanization and anthropogenic activities such as construction on drainage facilities, blockage of drainages, failure to heed flood warnings, dumping of debris into drainage system and violation of building regulations.

Daily Trust observed that the drainage system in the state is poor while Lagosians compound the situation by continuously dumping refuse in gutters and drainages, which leads to blockage. As a result, flooded roads are a common sight anytime it rains heavily in Lagos.

Lawmakers in the Lagos State House of Assembly during plenary on Thursday expressed worry over the floods recorded in some parts of the state recently, while they called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to find a solution to the situation.