Residents of flood-prone areas of Lagos State say rather than the government asking them to relocate, they should be assisted to secure their environment
Lagos residents, who live around wetlands and flood-prone areas, have stated that the advice given to them by the state’s Ministry of the Environment to relocate is not the best option for them.
The Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, had during a press briefing on the seasonal rainfall prediction in March, warned residents of such areas to relocate in order to avoid the damage that might be caused by the anticipated heavy rains in the state this year.
According to him, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, has predicted 275 days of intense rainfall and massive thunderstorms during the rainy season in the state.
“People who live in low-lying areas, there is nothing anybody can do for you. The most important thing will be for you to quit your houses when it rains. People should also plan for relocation,” he had said.
However, residents of some of the affected areas, who spoke with our correspondent, said relocation was out of the question as they had nowhere to go.
Mr. Kolade Olatunji, a former resident of Iwaya in Yaba area, told our correspondent that he was able to move out of the area because he could afford a little amount for alternative accommodation at the time.
Olatunji, who now lives in Agbede, a community in Agric area of Ikorodu, said, “When I was living in Iwaya, I knew the place was a wetland; sometimes you see water seeping from the ground, and before you know it, the entire street will be flooded; but there was nothing I could do.
“I later moved because I found an alternative; others are still there because I believe they have not been able to raise the rent for new places. This place, Agbede, is better; the only problem we have is that when it rains, the link road becomes flooded and may prevent movement for a few days.”
But Olatunji’s ‘better place’ cannot be described as such. According to residents, whenever it rains, the link road from Asolo to Agbede becomes flooded with storm water and water from a nearby canal, making the area inaccessible for days.
“Most people, who live in Asolo and Agbede, park their cars elsewhere whenever it rains,” a resident told our correspondent, adding, “Even people who have shops in the area abandon their shops until the water either dries up or reduces.”
Agbede, Asolo and Iwaya are not the only areas in the state where people have problems with flooding; there are others that experience worse situations yearly.
Some of these areas include Agiliti, Owode Onirin, Ajegunle, Majidun, Irawo and other parts of Ketu, Mile 12, Ikorodu, Isheri Olofin around Ojodu Berger, Aboru, Badiya, Arowojobe in Maryland, Elede and some areas in Eti Osa Local Government Area.
Those who live in Isheri Olofin, Majidun, parts of Ajegunle and Irawo say they experience flooding in between September and November when the Ogun River, which discharges its water into the Lagos lagoon, overflows its banks.
Mr. Oluwaseun Johnson, a resident of Irawo, said most people who live in the area use five coaches of blocks to lay their foundation so as to keep flood water from entering their houses.
“The water only covers about three coaches so you can have water in the compound, but not inside your house; but when you open the window, the water stares at you. Whenever the authorities of the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority open the dam, the water comes; it increases in volume everyday and lasts for two months on the average,” he said.
Johnson added that most people in the area did not wish to leave because they had invested so much money buying the land and building their houses.
“Some of us here believe that leaving here is not the best option, we believe the state government can still do something for us. Secondly, if we leave here, government will take over the land and rehabilitate it; so, why can’t they do it now while we are still here?” he asked.
In Ajegunle, a woman who identified herself simply as Josephine said she had never given relocation a thought in her 35 years of living in the area.
“I was born here, my parents have lived here for long and this is where we earn our living, how can we just wake up one morning and park out? To where?” she asked.
A popular landlord in Ajegunle area, Mr. Christopher Omobo, said the best the state could do for the residents was to spend part of the money it got from the Federal Government’s Ecological Fund in rehabilitating and upgrading the wetlands, instead of asking people to relocate.
He said, “The Lagos State Government should spend part of the money it got from the Federal Government to make our lives better and not constituting nuisance by asking us to leave here when the floods come. The people that were relocated to Agbowa last year are back here because they could not stay there.
Omobo said, “Will I forsake my monarchical heritage because of water? Those of us who live in the wetlands are Ilaje, Awori and Ijaw, and are known for staying at river banks because of our fishing activities and the money that resuscitates the nation’s economy is from the riverside areas.
“What is happening is part of global warming and the whole world is experiencing it; let the government find out what others are doing and do the same; if they give us financial assistance, we know what to do. Instead of asking us to relocate when the water comes, they can help us raise our homes, clear the waterfronts of water hyacinths and see if we don’t survive here.
“Let the state government spend part of the money they are using to sand-fill the ocean in these flood areas and see if everything will not change for good. Besides, why can’t those in Victoria Island and Ikoyi relocate? Are they not having the same problem?”
Omobo added that if the state government could not afford to undertake the daunting project of containing the floods, it should ask the Federal Government and the World Bank for assistance.
In a telephone interview with our correspondent, Bello said floods were expected as Lagos was a coastal state.
According to the commissioner, global warming has also worsened the situation.
Bello said it was wrong for people to buy land or build houses in low-lying areas or waterways, thereby inhibiting the flow of flood water.
He said, “I have said it in the past two years that people who live in such areas should relocate, especially in the months of June, July and August, when the rains seem heavier. There is nothing the government can do other than that.
“These are people who put us in office and it is our duty to let them know when things are going wrong and proffer solutions. We have relief centres in parts of the state where they can stay until they can find their feet again. That is the best we can do, the accommodation may not be the best, but it is only a temporary arrangement.”
Bello added that asking the government to provide houses for such purposes was out of the question.
“Ordinarily, you don’t build houses in low-lying areas; people should not even buy land in such areas that is what we are saying. But asking the government to build houses where they will relocate to is out of it,” he said.
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