In Lagos state yesterday, a severe rainfall occured, some activities in most parts of the state were halted because of the morning rain that flooded many neighborhoods, leaving many motorists trapped on the major roads, including the easy-busy third mainland bridge.
Many blamed the state government for not enforcing the environmental protection laws and prosecuting those that constantly dump refuse in water drainage ways which has led to the blockage of the channels thereby causing flood.
Mr Michael Simire, an environmental expert and publisher said:
“About nine hours of torrential rainfall is a lot of water that is bound to cause some sort of havoc in a city like Lagos that has a considerable landmass below sea level and with numerous swampy areas that have all become built-up residential areas.
“The poor drainage network is worsened by the habit of dumping refuse in drainage channels which become blocked and lead to flooded neighbourhoods. Also, a considerable amount of structures in Lagos are built along drainage channels.
“Government should endeavour to clear and maintain the secondary and primary drainage channels so that they can accommodate run-offs from heavy rains like this one.”
A consulting town planner, Mr Ayo Adejumo also reacted when he said “Everything that was not planned will give bad or wrong results or lead to disasters such as flooding we experience all over Lagos now.
“The lack of proper planning of our environment is giving us what we see now in our environment”.
“When the government spends money to do development plans and they are not implemented, ungodly situations like flooding is what we get because development plans take care of environmental issues like this and profer adequate mitigation measures”.
“Lack of provision of dump sites as part of planning is also a factor causing flooding as residents of Lagos dump wastes and refuse in the drainage and water bodies thus blocking free flow of water.
“Inefficient physical development control is another major cause. People build to block water channels. Government, through its planning agencies, should not have allowed this.”
Some residents in Lagos spoke to reporters and lamented about the poor drainage system in most parts of the metropolis is the major reason for the flooding situation in Lagos.
They also called the state government to come out and do something about the situation.
One of the residents in Lekki complained that the floor has recently been so massive that they can even leave their house. Lekki is one of those places that has been hit badly by the flood.
A government official while speaking to reporters o over a viral video where some residents were seen dumping refuse in the drainage, vowed that the suspects be brought to justice which will serve as a deterrent to others.
In the Ijesha area of Lagos state, the state government had sealed an apartment building which was discovered that the occupants were always throwing trash into the street.
The Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab confirmed this to the public.
Adetutu wrote: “(These) people just poured out their waste into the street water. This is no 2 Akewukewe Street beside Ikate Local Government in Ijesha Surulere.”
In response to this, Wahab commanded that the matter be looked into by the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA.
Updates coming up hours later, from the commissioner said: “The house has been identified and locked immediately by the Environmental Health Service Department of Itire-Ikate LCDA.”
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