₦airaland Forum

Sharpsharp00123:
what did your Messiah build?

Don't mind those hateful irritants. Progressive people, because they genuinely seek solutions, discuss good and bad.

They don't see good alone related to some place (the SE) and bad related to others (the SW) as the hateful lot do.

Of course Tinubu did fantastically well, along with Fashola and co. Yet, as an example, will he police every Lagosian and prevent them dropping plastic and pure water nylon in gutters that causes serious flooding?

The abominable and hateful lot are really annoying and best ignored most times.

It's AI

EbereGod:
I like the way you write Malili.
You're intelligent.

Very unfortunate what will it cost the lagos state govt to build a massive central drainage channel that will link the rivers that connects to the ocean?

Lekki is a lost cause. Op, is crying over spilled milk.

malali:
Lagos is not flooding because of climate change. Lekki is flooding because of unchecked greed, engineering apathy, and real estate gluttony.

Every rainy season, Lekki residents drag their SUVs through rivers disguised as roads. Behind the flooded streets is a web of deliberate failure, privatized profits, and public suffering. The story isn’t about nature—it’s about bad governance wrapped in glossy cement and high-rise delusion.

1. Lekki’s Terrain is Naturally Rebellious

Lekki is a low-lying, coastal peninsula built on wetlands, marshes, and mangroves. In urban planning terms, it was never meant to host high-density development without deep hydrological planning.

Originally, this land served as Lagos’ flood basin, absorbing excess water during storms and acting as a natural sponge. But developers saw profit where planners saw peril.


2. Real Estate Developers Butchered the Ecosystem

Between 2003 and 2023, the Nigerian elite turned Lekki into an investment zoo.
• Mangroves were bulldozed.
• Natural water retention zones were sand-filled.
• Drainage channels were built like afterthoughts.
• Buildings sprang up with zero compliance with drainage regulations.

Want proof? Visit Lekki Phase 1 or Osapa London. Massive malls and estates are sitting directly on water catchment areas. They not only block water—they reroute it to your living room.

3. Urban Flooding is the Price of Corruption

Nigerian urban development is mafia-coded:
• Developers bribe municipal officers to bypass environmental impact assessments.
• Dredging companies illegally block drainage paths, especially around Ajah and Sangotedo.
• Political cronies get waterfront land allocations, and the Lagos State government does little to enforce planning laws.

The result? Stormwater has nowhere to go but up.

4. Drainage Systems Are Cosmetic – Not Functional

Most Lekki “drains” are:
• Too shallow,
• Silted,
• Incomplete,
• Or blocked by waste from unregulated building sites.

Even the vaunted Lekki Conservation Centre is surrounded by inadequate storm channels. When it rains, the water sits. And waits. And drowns.

5. Lekki’s Roads Act Like Dams

Lekki Expressway and major connecting roads act like flood walls, not arteries.
They divide the land into “wet islands” and “dry corridors”, making floodwater pool in residential zones like Ikate, Chevron Drive, and the perennially flooded Jakande Roundabout.

The roads are tarred without sufficient culverts or water passage systems, essentially caging the floods inside human habitats.

6. The Developers Don’t Live There

Most property in Lekki is owned by:
• Diaspora Nigerians,
• Politicians,
• CEOs parking cash,
• Not the average Lagosian.

They don’t live in the mess they’ve created. And the people who do live there? They pay the price—year after year.

7. Lekki is a Snake Eating Its Tail

As long as:
• Sand-filling continues unchecked,
• Mangroves are viewed as “undeveloped plots,”
• Municipal authorities ignore enforcement,
• And the Lagos elite sees urban planning as a joke…

Lekki will continue to drown in its own ambition.

The irony? The more expensive the house, the higher the flood risk.

Water doesn’t respect price tags.

I've been living in Lekki for a year plus and I can attest to this. Lekki is a customized flood plain. From Jakande to Marwa and Lekki Phase 1. It's a flood zone. If nothing is done to correct this menace by putting a stop to Land developers doing their business. Lekki will be a submerged zone soon.

Where else do you post your articles?

I could follow you here but that would include notifications for all of your other post/replies.

[quote author=WizardOfNG

The best place to live in Lagos, for many reasons, is Ikeja GRA if one can afford it.[/quote]Even Ikeja GRA is no longer what it used to be.

Too many developments, bad roads, and the place is getting over commercialised.

The Lagos State government is just so irresponsible when it comes to spatial planning.

AngelahFlo:
I've been living in Lekki for a year plus and I can attest to this. Lekki is a customized flood plain. From Jakande to Marwa and Lekki Phase 1. It's a flood zone. If nothing is done to correct this menace by putting a stop to Land developers doing their business. Lekki will be a submerged zone soon.

Areas like Osapa London experience flooding on a terrible level that literally grinds activities, commercial and private, to a halt for days.

DeLaRue:
Even Ikeja GRA is no longer what it used to be.

Too many developments, bad roads, and the place is getting over commercialised.

The Lagos State government is just so irresponsible when it comes to spatial planning.

I get your point but compared to everywhere else, it remains superior for major issues like decent security and being relatively flooding-free to others conveniences like proximity to MMIA for frequent travellers like businessmen etal.

If you create a desirability tick list, for areas to live in Lagos, Ikeja GRA will still tickets the most boxes despite its problem no Lagos area is free of.

RaySimran:
Though interesting; I always struggle to connect with your write-up because of the font style you mostly use

Please recommend better fonts.
Thanks.

dollypi:
It's AI

Oh!