3 months ago
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Despite the warning by the Federal Ministry of Environment that about 27 states in Nigeria including Lagos State will experience unusual heavy rainfall this year, and requested that states should take steps to mitigate the incidence of flooding, some residents of Lagos State, especially those within Aboru, Agege and its environ said the state government has not done enough to make the canal within their corridor ready to take the large volume of rain water being expected. They claimed the canal is shallow and has not been re-dredged since 2021.
Of note is that many of the canals in Lagos are interlinked, as a result cut across many communities. It is why a canal flows from Aboru through Iyana Ipaja, Agege onward to other parts of the state.
So the residents are afraid that the bridge across the canal at Soretire area of Orile-Agege is low aside it is already distressed and caving in. They disclosed that when it rains heavily, flood water often submerged the bridge making it invisible for motorists and pedestrians. It was gathered that sometime back, as a result of the flooded bridge a driver while navigating through the bridge, the car got swept into the canal.
An artisan, Ajala David, who operates by the side of the canal at Soretire, lamented the dilapidated state of the bridge.
“The fact that it is gradually dividing the road into two is very obvious. If it succeeds in dividing the road into two, it means vehicles coming from Pen-cinema and other areas would be cut off while those coming from Ile-epo would also be restricted from moving ahead.
“The big hole created on the bridge is giving room for criminals to hide under the bridge with intent to commit havoc.
“In addition to that, the canal is not deep enough. It is supposed to be deeper than this. As it is now, it is very dangerous. When it rained heavily last time, there was heavy flood with the canal overflowing to the point that for five days, vehicles could not pass. Again, whenever it rains heavily, houses that are close to the canal are always flooded to the extent that the inhabitants would have to vacate their apartments.
“The truth is that those that came to expand the canal after the mishap of 2021 did not do a good job at all. They should have known that the main problem was the shallowness of the canal,” he said.
A resident, Oyegbemi Adeniji, who also lives close to the canal at Soretire, buttressed the fact that the canal is too low for the volume of water that passes through it.
“Whenever it rains, we are always scared. We do tell our children to stay away from school if the rain meets them at home. You can imagine the state of our minds if the rain should meet them in their schools.
“This is the trauma we pass through whenever it rains. Sometime ago, the flood swept a motorcyclist and his bike away. A tricycle rider, Adewale, who operates on the Iyana Ipaja to Aboru route, said the navigating the canal area once it rains.
“Whenever there is heavy downpour of rain, we have to stop work and wait until the floodwater disappears.
“In fact, it is very dangerous to cross the bridge at that time because of the state of the bridge and the tendency to be swept inside the canal.
“Children coming from school, living in Aboru would have to wait till the water goes down. If the downpour occurs in the night, many school children would have to stay back at home.”
“We implore the government to find a lasting solution to the problem of the incessant flooding such that the water will not only be covering the bridge but stop spreading to buildings left and right,” he said
Attempts to get the Commissioner of Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab to comment on the issues raised by the residents were not successful. He did not pick his calls and did not respond to text message sent to him.
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