Averting flood a collective responsibility

IT is said that cleanliness is next to godliness. Flood is a disaster that could be predicted, tamed and averted. Unfortunately, many people disregard the important measures to avert it. Flood, according to the Oxford dictionary, is a large amount of water covering an area that is usually dry.
Going down the memory lane, the city of Ibadan experienced an unforgettable occurrence of flood called ‘Omiyale’ on August 31, 1980, which claimed a lot of lives and destroyed properties.
Also on August 11, 2011, another flood occurred, resulting from a downpour for several hours. It rendered some people homeless, many lives were lost and properties were destroyed.
In order to forestall the recurrence of this incident, the Oyo State government swung into action by establishing the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project which is being financed by World Bank and several strategies were set to achieve the set goal.
Also, the government embarks on regular dredging of rivers in the state, a statutory weekly environmental sanitation all over the states, as well as sensitisation programmes.
But then and again, inspite of the prediction by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) in April 2017 that Oyo is one of the states likely to experience flood this year and the efforts of the state government to avert the natural disaster, Ibadan is still being affected by flood. This is because the people have failed to heed government’s warning on preventive measures on flooding.
They still dump refuse in gutters and waterways, thereby obstructing free passage of water when erosion occurs. People erect illegal structures, shanties and kiosks in flood-prone areas to block the free flow of water when it rains. They have a nonchalant attitude to environmental laws and physical planning regulations aimed at averting flood disaster in the state and, above all, they exhibit indifference towards government sensitisations, admonitions and warnings.
What then is the way forward? The truth is that government as well as the people of the state have their individual responsibilities. The state government has done part of its responsibility by taking proactive measures to avert flood and it is the duty of the general public to see flood prevention and control as collective responsibilities.
The people should refrain from dumping of refuse in rivers and drainages.
They should dutifully observe the weekly sanitation exercise mandated by the state government and avoid erecting illegal structures on waterways and flood-prone areas.
The state government needs the cooperation of all and sundry to check the menace of flooding in the state.
Let us all do our part as responsible citizens while the government performs its social responsibilities.

•Odunoye Omolola
TESCOM, Oyo State