With [b]bated breath, Lagos awaits the floods
By TOPE ADEBOBOYE
Wednesday, June 08, 2011 
• A flooded street in Lagos
Photo: Sun Publishing

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It came down in torrents, pouring forth from the heavens with undisguised ferocity. Accompanied by lightning and strong, howling winds, the rain forcefully pounded the streets and clanged furiously on rooftops. It came with low visibility, forcing many a motorist to quickly pull their vehicles over by the roadside. And within minutes, traffic on Lagos roads became paralyzed, with floods taking over both major and minor streets across the state.

Last Friday’s rains, like the ones before, caused major gridlocks in Lagos and some other states across the country. The downpour did even more. Many homes across the state became unwilling hosts to flood created by rainwater, with residents scurrying to rearrange household furniture to save them from the rampaging flood.

The rains, as earlier predicted by experts, are here again. And if the forecast of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) is anything to go by, then the state is in for some unpleasant times.
According to the agency, the degree of rainfall in 2011 falls between 300 and 1100 millimetres in the Northern part of Nigeria while it fluctuates between 1200 and 2700 in the South. What the frightening figures simply connote is that the rains of this year will be quite heavy and ferocious, especially in the South, unlike in the previous years.

In a coastal state like Lagos, the forecast portends that the state will witness more rain-induced crisis this year than it did in previous years. It means that the state will, most likely, experience more flooding this year, with millions of residents suffering displacement and other ills associated with flooding.
The scary NIMET forecast has since been giving the state government sufficient cause for concern. Only last year, flooding in parts of the state resulted in the displacement of thousands of residents. Property, roads and other infrastructure worth billions of naira were also destroyed in the flooding that disrupted commercial activities in the state. Little wonder that the government has raised the alarm that this year’s flooding might surpass last year’s, advising residents of flood-prone parts of the state to start considering relocating.
The government has, however, assured residents that it will strive hard to minimise the likely consequences of the flooding, saying it has started working out modalities to save residents from its effects.

General Manager of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the state government is aware of the likely effects of the rains this year and would not be caught napping. In his words, the state government, under the leadership of Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) is working hard on the forecast and taking the battle against flooding more seriously. He said residents would not pass through what they underwent last year during the rainy season.

In the peak of the rainy season last year, the Ogun River overran its banks, spilling its brownish waters into homes and streets across many Lagos communities. Many communities across several local government areas in the state were sacked by the rampaging flood which cut off many communities from other parts of the state, forcing millions of residents to flee their homes. The state government had to relocate many of the displaced people, housing some at the relief camps hastily constructed by the state government.

Osanyintolu put the number of displaced persons housed at the Agbowa Relief Camp at 1,600. Those taken to the camp, he said, were those severely affected during the period the surge of Ogun River devastated several communities in the North-Eastern part of Lagos. Besides those gravely affected, he noted that the state government equally catered to the needs of those mildly affected. And now that the rainy season has come again, Osanyintolu said the government is determined that the rains will not lead to the loss of lives and property as witnessed last year.

Said Osanyintolu: “Flood is the main natural disaster Lagos metropolis is susceptible to. And the state has fine-tuned this early warning system, intensified sensitization campaign against flood disaster and taken multi-pronged approaches to contain its imminent crisis. We are simply looking towards the future with an agenda to ensure safety of lives and properties.”

To further assure residents that the state is leaving no stone unturned in its determination to ensure that residents are saved the agony associated with prolonged flooding, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Service in the Ministry of Environment, Mr. Muhydeen Akinsanya, an engineer, recently addressed journalists on the issue.
Akinsanya spoke in the presence of his Transportation, Information and Strategy and Environmental Services counterparts, Mr. Seyi Coker, Mrs. Ranti Odutola and Dr. Titilayo Anibaba respectively. The officials said Lagos residents must constantly be proactive in ensuring that the state is not overrun by flood this rainy season.

Akinsanya said every resident must ensure that water channels are constantly rid of solid wastes. He also named 10 communities which he described as disaster zones in the state. They include Ikosi-Ketu, Mile 12, Agiliti, Thomas Laniyan Estate, Owode-Onirin, Agboyi-Ketu, Owode Elede, Maidan and Isheri North scheme. He said the communities are susceptible to flooding between June and September.
“To avoid major disasters, the state government urges residents of the communities to move to higher grounds within the months of June to mid September and October to January because the capacity of most canals is not likely to contain the volume of runoff expected from the rainfall, thereby culminating in the crisis of flooding with immediate and remote consequences,” he said.

He asserted that water channels in the state have been cleared, even as he asserted that government would continue to pursue its regular maintenance schedule. But he appealed to residents to desist from building structures atop drainages.
On the perpetual flooding of some parts of the state, especially from Gbagada to Tin Can Island, including many areas along the stretch of Oworonshoki –Apapa Expressway, Akinsanya regretted that the federal government has for long neglected its responsibilities on that road.

He lamented that people living in places such as Mile 2, Rainbow, Ijeshatedo, Ilasamaja, Ewu-Tuntun and Itire areas would likely face the same difficult situation this year.
The permanent secretary said those living along riverbanks and other flood-prone areas should promptly alert the relevant authorities whenever they notice a high rise in the water level. Those that could be contacted, he said, include Engr. Bade Adebowale on 08056145481, Engr. L.A. Alafia on 08023151082 and Engr. K.O. Ogunsiji on 08023298197.

“People should be very vigilant and raise the alarm in case of high rise in water level, and ensure that they immediately vacate the water path in case of heavy flooding. They should put the safety of lives before anything else. The state government will not relent in the enlightenment of the public on their duties while its efforts will be geared towards proper operation and maintenance of storm water related infrastructure,” he said.

Akinsanya noted that some parts of the state hitherto notorious for flood have since overcome the menace owing to the efforts of the state government.
“In terms of key performance indicators, close to 70 percent of the state wetland has been drained and the degree of flooding reduced drastically as well as a 100 percent reduction in fatalities due to the menace,” he said. He observed that there has been a significant reduction in the number of Lagos residents who experience knee-deep flooding in their communities, saying the figure has reduced from five to two million in the last four years. An effective de-flooding programme put in place by the government, he says, has been responsible for the reduction.

“The government also created the Emergency Flood Abatement Gang (EFAG) to provide emergency services to flood related distress in Lagos State. EFAG undertakes the construction, re-construction or rehabilitation of drains, culverts, manholes including covers, inspection chambers and conduit drains where necessary. All these efforts have produced the desired results,” he noted.
Permanent Secretary in the office of Environment, Dr. Titilayo Anibaba, said the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) is well equipped to clear refuse wherever it is generated in the state. She said the agency would continue to sensitize Lagos residents to dispose of refuse in designated areas so that flooding would be diametrically reduced in Lagos this year.

“We will continue to educate Lagosians to ensure that wastes are properly disposed of at the designated points. This will assist the waste management agency a lot in carting away such refuse. The patronage of illegal cartwheel operators often results in the dumping of refuse in the wrong places,” she noted.
While contributing to the forum, Mr. Seyi Coker said Governor Fashola has pledged that his administration would do all it can to save Lagos residents from the plague of humanitarian crises that usually arise from flooding.
He advised motorists to continually maintain their vehicles and ensure that they remain in good shape all through the year. “There is a need for all year maintenance of the vehicles that ply the roads, especially the brake system, the lights, the wipers and the tyres to prevent fatalities,” he said. [/b]

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