Recently, I received the news that the government allocated about 3 billion naira for the provision of relief and medical supplies to states near the Rivers Niger and Benue because of the flooding.They include Kogi, Edo, Delta, Niger, Kwara State, Kebbi, Rivers, Bayelsa, Adamawa States amongst others. However, Ogun State was not listed. The reason is not farfetched. Our problem comes from another source. The Oyan Dam. I did a little research on the dam. The facts are listed below

1. Oyan Dam was created in 1983. It was commissioned under the Shagari government.
2. It is situated on River Oyan, a tributary to the Ogun River
3. Several villages were displaced during the construction of the Oyan Dam
3. It has a capacity of 270 million cubic meters.
4. It is located in Abeokuta
5. The dam has a total of 3 turbines of 3 Megawatts each installed. Fact number 6 is probably the most interesting.
6. It has an annual generating capacity of 0 Megawatts. Simply put, these turbines have been lying fallow for about 35 years without being put to work.

Due to the structure of dams, it has to be opened periodically to prevent the dam falling apart on its own. When this happens, it floods the surrounding areas or areas close to the Ogun River. Oluwakemi area of Denro-Ishasi and Iboko area is being affected by this. Of course, our hearts would sit easy if the dam was actually being used
Denro-Ishasi is one of the routes leading to Berger, Lagos State. And the journey has to be divided into two. One on road and the second on water(via canoes). As a result of this stress, most people choose an alternate route which is the Akute-Alagbole route which is almost always prone to heavy traffic.

The long and short of my story is that the government should do something about it. Even if the release of the dam is inevitable, the people affected should be provided with relief materials. Most people have been displaced already. This news should be passed on to relevant authorities such as NEMA. And I would also appreciate if it is moved to the front page

Cc lalasticlala
Mynd44

Pictures are attached below

Iboko area
It should be noted that the person in the picture is over 6 feet tall and that the pictures were taken on Thursday. By today, the water level has increased by about 6 inches

Denro-Ishasi
Oluwakemi area
Taken on Tuesday. They had to ply the route by boat. Currently, there is a wooden plank constructed there to aid people crossing. We pay 50 naira to cross. Another source of income for the omo-onile

Alagbole axis
Traffic on the the Alagbole axis. Taken yesterday