CHAOS and despair gripped Lagos on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, as heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding in numerous neighbourhoods, paralysing activities across the State. Motorists were stranded on major roads, including the ever-busy Third Mainland Bridge, leaving many unable to navigate the treacherous conditions.
However, some residents of the State have blamed the State Government for failing to enforce environmental protection laws and prosecuting those caught dumping refuse in drainage channels leading to their blockage and flooding whenever it rains.
For instance, an environmental expert and publisher of EnvironNews, a publication on environment issues, Mr Michael Simire, 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.”
Also reacting, a consulting town planner, Mr Ayo Adejumo said: “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.”
Meanwhile, some Lagos residents lamented that poor drainage system in some parts of the metropolis, such as Oworosonki, Oshodi, and Alimosho, among others, is the major cause of the perennial flooding situation in the state.
Expressing their displeasure with the flooding situation in the state, they called on the State Government to come to their rescue.
A resident of Lekki, one of the worst hit by flood, lamented that the flooding in their area has become so massive lately that they are unable to leave their homes.
Most hard hit by the heavy flooding were places like Ikeja, Agege, Ikorodu Road, Oworosonki, Egbeda, Oshodi, Funsho Williams, Lekki, Ajah, Obalende, among others.
Multiple videos and pictures, which trended online captured areas such as the Iyana-Oworo, Olopo Meji area toward the Third Mainland Bridge submerged in flood, resulting in a chaotic traffic situation, extending as far as Alapere, old Toll Gate, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway of the state.
Some miscreants in the mostly affected areas took advantage of the situation to make quick money from innocent pedestrians by extorting them before allowing pedestrians to pass through improvised structures across flooded areas.
A video of one of the scenes captured saw miscreants laying siege under the Lagos Trade Fair, along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, demanding the sum of N100 per individual before they could be allowed passage over the flooded part, claiming they provided the structures through their efforts and not government’s.
It was the same situation at Agege, Oshodi, Obalende and other areas monitored as hoodlums carried pedestrians on their backs for agreed fees ranging from N100, N200, and above across flooded points.
Meanwhile, some pedestrians, who felt they were being compelled to pay under duress, refused to pay, resulting in altercations with the hoodlums.
However, reacting to yesterday’s downpour, the Lagos State Government called for calm from residents over the flash flood, saying despite the severity of the situation, there was no cause for alarm.
Wahab in a statement, explained that Lagos has experienced about nine hours of non-stop rainfall since the early hours of Wednesday, coupled with heavy rainfall, which the state has been experiencing daily since last week resulting in a rise in the level of the Lagos lagoon.
He said: “Lagos is a coastal city with almost one-third of its landmass underwater, as such necessitating a genuine reason for every resident to be more responsive to the state of the environment.
“The State Government on its part has embarked on a-year-long maintenance and cleaning of all its secondary and primary collectors to be able to contain runoffs that may come from heavy rainfalls.
“Residents on their part are expected to regularly clean and maintain the tertiary drains in front of their tenements and refrain from dumping refuse in the drains for the collective good of everyone.”
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Meteorological Agency, NiMet, had earlier predicted thunderstorms and rains from Wednesday to Friday across the country