APPARENTLY worried by the looming flooding of their environment as predicted by the Nigerian meteorological Agency (NiMet), residents in flood-prone locations in Ogun State can no longer sleep with their two eyes closed over the impending danger.
They are begging the government to come to their assistance by finding permanent solutions to the annual release of water.
While many of the residents are not new to the annual flooding of their communities and residences, others in locations such as Warewa, Isheri, Magboro Kara, all in Ogun State are worried about the inconveniences, impassable roads, destruction of properties and degradation of environment that come with the deluge.
They are also worried over the inability of government to help the situation.
Residents’ latest fear followed the statement by National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) that 19 states and 56 communities across the country would likely witness heavy rainfall that could lead to flooding within the month.
In a statement signed by Lagos Territorial Coordinator, NEMA, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, he listed the states and communities as Delta: Aboh; Ekiti State: Ado Ekiti; Ondo State: Akure, Idanre, Ifon, Iju Itaogbolu, Ogbese, Owo, Owena, Ondo.
Others, he said, include Lagos State: Apapa, Badagry, Eti Osa, Ikeja, Ikorodu, Ikoyi, Lagos Island, Ojo, Surulere; Anambra: Atani; Ogun: Ifo, Ota, Sagamu; Nasarawa State: Lafia, Wamba; and Cross River: Ikom and Ogoja, among others.
However, for over 2,500 residents of Isheri River View Estate, one of the Ogun State Government’s mixed development schemes on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, they said their fate is in their hands, lamenting that living in flood-prone location has not be a pleasant experience.
For no fault of their own, they said that their estate and adjoining communities are always flooded whenever water from the popular Oyan Dam is released in the peak of the raining season (July and October) by the Ogun-Osun River Basin Authority, the management of Oyan facility.
Due to annual flooding, they expressed regret about the decision of buying into the estate 15 years ago.
Lamenting their living environmental condition, they said: “Our fate is in our hands. We have no confidence in the government for solution to our problems. They are always promising but forget their promises as soon as they are off the cameras.”
Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, one of the pioneer residents, Mr. Abayomi Akinde, said: “Looking back, we are regretting the decision to buy into the estate, but we just pretend that all was well even when all was never well.”
Narrating how himself and other residents got to know about the estate, which was created during former governor Gbenga Daniel’s administration in Ogun State in 2008, Akinde said it was through government’s advertorial and publicity.
Besides, he said the officials of government came to United Kingdom and United States of America to market the housing estate to Nigerians in the diaspora.
“There was a time they came to the dispora to market the housing estate. They also displayed it on billboards. They told us they were mirroring the housing scheme towards a particular estate in South Africa.
“We were attracted and I even helped to market the estate to my friends. Literarily, I was helping people to obtain forms because of the proximity of the estate to Lagos and closeness to major expressway,” Akinde said.
Throughout the period of marketing the estate, he said he and other subscribers never knew that the place was flood-proned or waterlogged.
According to him, residents already finished building their homes when they experienced the first flood.
“I had to abandon other building project behind my house,” he said.
All efforts to get the state government do something about the flood, he said, failed to yield positive results
Fifteen years down the line, Akinde said many residents are regretting their decision, while calling on Ogun State government to do the needful.
When efforts to get government attention did not yield any positive result, he said that the residents have practically taken their fate into their hands, resorting to self-help.
On the looming 2023 flooding as conveyed by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), he said: “The major thing we are doing is to liaise with Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority.
“We got to their managing director, he is talking about sustainable water release now, which is a major contributor to flooding annually.
“We spoke with him and I told him we are not happy about what the project manager is doing because he retained too much water on the dam and would wait until the height of the raining season before managing it.
“We made our observations and recommendations known to the management. We also spent over two months from December 2022 through February 2023 to clear our water ways to allow free flow of flood water at enormous cost, even though we were unable to finish the project due to lack of funding. So these are our little efforts while we leave the rest to God.”
According to Akinde, other things that would have put permanent solution to the problem of flooding in the axis are capital intensive, adding that the state government is not willing to invest.
“We have approached the office of the Ecological Fund for help, but nothing is forthcoming at the moment. I have been having conversation with some former executive of the state, one of them raised the issue on the floor of the Senate a few days ago, talking about dredging of rivers and all that,” he said.
“So, it seems Ogun State Government does not want to help despite being government’s scheme. They even collect Ground Rent.
“Julius Berger brought a cost of about N3.7billion about two years ago. We even wrote the state government that the estate is capable of paying for the project. We are not saying this should come from the account of the state government.
“The state government collects the annual ground rent and other levies from us, it can take a percentage of this to the company that wants to do the development, get the necessary legislation, and when we pay this money, you just need to help them in enforcement.
“If people see that the flood is no longer there, there will be development, they will rush to develop due to the nature of proposal.”
On the alternative, Akinde said he could raise money to fix it but that he would need guarantee of the state government.
“Look at how many companies there right now; the commercial and industrial plots are very many. This is an estate that are more that the size of Victoria Island and yet not up to 5 per cent have been really developed because of the problem .
“As at today, we have over 250 families residing in the estate. We are about 1500 thereabout residents apart from industrial and corporate organisations in the estate.
“Look at the businesses, and government is making a lot of money from these companies.
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