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the story of how the Odo-Ogun dam is frustrating Lagos residents with incessant flooding.
Residents of Ajegunle along Ikorodu Road have been confronted by a serious flooding arising from the overflow of the Odo-Ogun River which has been affecting the community for a long time.
In 2010, it was gathered that the situation became so bad that residents had to resort to using canoes and rafts to get to their houses as the water from the dam wreaked havoc on the area, submerging houses and destroying properties worth millions of naira.
Residents have also pleaded with the government to change from what they described as an annual ritual of telling them to leave their homes without making provisions for alternative accommodation, adding that what they needed was development not a quit notice.
A community leader on Zion Street, simply identified as Mrs Akindele, was very furious when asked whether she had started making plans to move as directed by the state government.
She said: “Those in Isale Eko, have they moved? What of those in Ikoyi, Apapa, Ogudu and Surulere, have they all left? I want to know whether those living in Costain, Ijora, Ojo have left; if they have left, then we can start talking. Tell Fashola to face reality; that we don’t have any problem of flooding here in Ajegunle.
“I grew up in Itire/Ilasa area of Lagos; so nobody can tell us to leave our homes on the excuse that water is disturbing us. If Tejuosho could become what it is today, why are they telling us to leave?
“We are not part of Lagos unless we are deceiving ourselves. People say Fashola is working, but we in Ajegunle are the ones working to make our lives better.
“At least, you can see that we have not just started living in this place; we did not have any water problem until the former Local Government Chairman, Mrs Yetunde Arobieke, came here to start the drainage project which she later abandoned. Since then, flood has become a problem for us.
“The problem escalated as a result of precipitation from adjoining South West states which discharges through several streams off to the Ogun River before discharging into the Lagos Lagoon.
“Women of the area had planned to protest naked against her, but we were prevailed upon to drop the idea. We wanted to march on the streets to show our displeasure because she caused this problem for us. Since then, the community has been trying to fix roads and drainages in our area.”
The residents said the canal running through the community had increased the problem.
In 2013, the Lagos State Government advised residents of the Ajegunle, Owode-Onirin and Owode Elelede areas along Ikorodu and other flood prone areas to be on alert over the increased movement of water in the area and promised to relocate them to Epe. The residents refused to relocate.
However, residents of Itowolo, Ajegunle, Irawo, Owode-Elede and its environs are the worst hit by the flood and have resorted to the use of canoes to access their streets. Many also hastily constructed wooden bridges to link their houses to the water-logged roads.
This, however, was in contravention of the earlier and consistent warning issued by the state government directing them to quit the vicinity based on experts’ forecast of the impending danger.
Mrs Esther Adefemi, who is a landlady on Zion Street, told Inside Lagos that the state government should allow them stay in their homes.
She said they were suspicious that the quit notice might be a ploy by government to acquire their lands.
“I am Ilaje and so are many of us living here in Ajegunle. We are like the Ijaw and people who adapt naturally to water unless it is Noah’s flood. Let’s assume that the rains cause flooding as you say they have predicted, before long, it will recede.
“Have you heard that anyone died here as a result of flood? It is not possible. Fashola should come and help us develop this area. The last time when they said people should move, some tenants used the opportunity to go to Agbowa, where the state government provided accommodation for them.
“But the same government chased them out of the place after feeding them for some time and gave them N30,000 each to fend for themselves. So do you want me at this stage of my life to leave my house and start begging?
“The money government spent on feeding some people in Agbowa was enough to change the face of Ajegunle. But they are the government and are free to spend their money how they like. Our problem here in Ajegunle is simple; let them come and do the drainage and rehabilitate the roads,” she declared.
Most of the residents who spoke with Inside Lagos, however, said they could not obey the order because they had no place to relocate to.
Despite the flooded area, business was in high gear as traders were seen busy in their makeshift stalls even in the flooded areas. Hawkers were also busy wading through the flooded road to attend to their customers.
Also not left out were some furniture dealers who displayed their wares seemingly oblivious of the surrounding water. Some of them told Inside Lagos that they were not bothered because they were used to the situation which was first experienced about 16 years ago and had been re-occurring since then, becoming worse last year.
At Irawo, some women with babies strapped to their backs were seen struggling to find their way inside the flooded areas on their way home, even with flood water reaching their waists.
Speaking with Inside Lagos, some commuters wondered why lawmakers from the state had not been using part of their constituency allowances to alleviate the sufferings of the masses, just as they frowned on government’s expressed intention to remove subsidy on petroleum products.
It will be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan visited the area the last time serious flooding occurred there and promised government intervention to bring succour to the inhabitants. But that is yet to happen.
It was only recently that the Lagos State government relocated some victims to Agbowa camp.
“I have lived in Ajegunle for about 20 years, but the last flood here forced me to relocate to Odogunyan area. Unfortunately, government has not done anything to save the situation,” said a public servant, Mrs Olaitan Falodun.
Some commuters said they had no choice but to brave the flooded road to get to their destinations. “What else can we do, we have no alternative,” chorused Mr Nathaniel Abiodun, Mrs Juliana Gabriel and Mr Anthony Ogochukwu.
According to the Commissioner for Environment, Tunji Bello, the government had dispatched engineers from the Office of Drainage Services, who were working to ensure that there was no flooding.
Bello said: “the rise in water level is as a result of runoff meeting with high tides thereby blocking the flow from discharging into the Lagos Lagoon, which has now caused the overflow that has contained itself within 30metres of the Ogun riverbank.
The commissioner said the current situation had nothing to do with release of water from any of the dams along the alignment of Ogun River, saying the state government had an understanding and a good working relationship with Ogun-Osun River Basin Authority that was managing the dams.
He said, “Residents are, however, advised to be vigilant and stay away within a distance of 50 metres from the river boundary on both sides, as well as observe all safety measures within this period. We all know that Lagos is a state below the sea level and is constantly being threatened with the challenge of climate change and ocean surge.”
Bello said due to the strategies put in place by the government and the collaboration with managers of dams in the South West, flood challenges in the areas in the past three years had been greatly reduced despite increase in the intensity of rainfall in the state.
“But officials of the Ministry of the Environment will continue to monitor development as it unfolds in the areas and will update ‘Lagosians’ as the need arises,” the commissioner added.
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