Govt should clear drainage, enforce laws, save us from flood!

Over the past few weeks, some parts of Lagos, such as Ilaje, Mushin, Victoria Island, Lekki, Lagos Mainland among others have experienced flood. Viral videos have shown houses been overthrown by water, destruction of vehicles and other properties. This has also led to a lot of people vacating their homes and discouraged a lot of people from buying and owning landed properties in some parts of the state. This has also affected transportation, logistics and movement across the state.

Flood – the overflow of water that covers the land mostly as a result of rain has no doubt again hit some parts of Lagos State terribly, as it used to be on a yearly basis. The country is currently in its rainy season and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) have issued red alerts, warning some states of extreme flood risks. However, despite these warnings, little prevention has been made.

Flooding poses serious dangers to human lives. It leads to loss of lives; damage to properties, spread of water-borne diseases, disruption of businesses and pollution of drinking water sources, the list is endless.

READ ALSO: NiMet issues flood alert for Lagos, seven coastal states

Causes of flood such as blocked drainage, buildings on water channels, plastic waste and poor drainage have time and time been clearly stated, yet the acts are being repeated over and over again.

To stop this cycle, I want to appeal to Lagos State Government and other states experiencing such to strictly enforce clearing of drainages across the state and ban refuse dumping as plastic waste and blocked drainage worsen flooding. Also, structures on drainage paths must be removed, buildings should not be on waterways and town planning law should be enforced.

Also, the government should not just react to forecast; it should take prompt actions as well. The annual flood outlook has been released by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency even before the rain started. If proper actions were taken, the disaster could have been prevented.

Mercy Ayankunle is a student of the Department of Mass Communication of the University of Ilorin.