Lagos, Ogun flood victims count losses, demand govt action

Since the Oyan Dam water was released, many residents of Lagos-Ogun border communities have been forced to abandon their homes and property, due to floodwaters which took over their homes. Many of these residents are asking the government to take measures that would put a permanent stop to the recurring nightmare, VICTOR AYENI writes

With despondency boldly evident on their faces, residents of Isheri, Arepo, Lafenwa, Warewa, and other adjoining communities in Ogun State, as well as Mile 12, Agiliti, Ikosi-Ketu, Owode and Ajegunle in Lagos State, fought hard to gather what they could from their belongings floating about in the swirling, surging flood water.

Though flooding is a perennial occurrence in these water-prone plains, residents are always unprepared for the nightmare that unfolds once water overruns the riverbanks bordering these densely populated areas and are left beaten and battered by unfathomable losses.

Saturday PUNCH gathered that the flood is often caused by the release of water from the Oyan Dam, which is owned by the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority, which then flows into a network of 52 river tributaries, contributing to the rising water levels of the Ogun River

The route from Mile 12 to Ikorodu Town in Lagos, which runs along the River Ogun bank, has been described as a flood plain, although many people reside along it.

It was gathered that prior to the water release from the Oyan Dam this year, the Federal Government had initiated the dredging of the Ogun River downstream from the Ikorodu to Isheri axis to reduce flood risks.

The Managing Director of OORBDA, Ayodeji Ashiru, had told Saturday PUNCH on October 3, that the water release from the dam was part of regular operations to maintain water levels and mitigate flood risks.

Unfortunately, on October 12, residents of communities at Isheri, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State, noticed a gradual increase in the current of the Ogun River leading to flooding in many communities.

On October 17, the Lagos State Government said it had begun to collaborate with its Ogun counterpart to monitor the situation and address humanitarian concerns, particularly for women, children, the elderly and people living with disabilities.

However, within a week, the water level rose to an alarming proportion, forcing many residents to relocate from the communities and abandon their property.

The affected communities include Isheri, Riverview Estate, Oshorun Estate, OPIC Estate, Arepo, Mawere, Akute, Alagbole, Orimerunmu, and Magboro, among others.

Other residents of the estates within the affected communities have stayed behind either to navigate the floodwater with canoes or wade in the floodwater irrespective of the inherent risks.

It was gathered that there has been a growing demand for boats in the areas, with boat operators said to be charging residents between N200 and N400 per trip.

‘We are suffering’

On Monday, the Ogun State Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, told Saturday PUNCH that the state government is planning a temporary shelter, which would accommodate residents affected by the flood.

He also advised residents to evacuate immediately and not wait for an escalation of the situation.

However, the chairman of Isheri Riverview Estate, Abayomi Akinde, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, faulted the relocation plan of the state government.

“The advice of the government for us to relocate is totally untenable. How much are we going to pay? There are people as I speak whose houses have been flooded, but because of the economic situation in the country, they stay right inside the water.

“These are people whose sitting rooms and bedrooms have been flooded but they don’t have an upstairs to run to. Some of us are lucky to have an upstairs, but there are people whose houses are bungalows. We have all abandoned our vehicles and even now as I speak, we are being carried by boats. There are three men and a young woman in this boat. We are suffering here,” he lamented.

Akinde further explained that the Riverview Estate land was sold to subscribers by the Ogun State government and refuted the claim that homeowners built on flood plains.

“How come they willfully sold land on floodplains to subscribers without an idea of what they will come to face? The state government sold us this land and they have the moral obligation to solve the problem.

“They inherited both the assets and liabilities of the state and they must have a solution to this flooding liability. The Ogun State government should compensate the victims of this flooding for their unquantifiable losses, apart from coming to fix the problem,” Akinde insisted.

Also speaking with our correspondent, the chairman of Isheri Estates Community, Gbenga Osobu, said the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, visited the flooded estates on Wednesday.

“He promised us that they would partner with the Federal Government to get some solution to the flooding we are experiencing,” Osobu added.

Over N800m spent on flood prevention

Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, the chairman of Isheri North, Lekan Akinyemi, attributed the major cause of the flood to the release of water from Oyan Dam, adding that the residents don’t experience flooding whenever it rains.

He advised the federal and state governments to adopt certain measures that will permanently halt the flood crisis that the communities are plagued with annually.

“First, the dredging of the Ogun River and the canal at the Isheri North should be done. This Ogun River passes Isheri North to the Majidun and Agiliti areas of Lagos and then empties into the ocean. The depth and width of this dredging has to be extensive.

“The Lagos State government should also raise the drainages and roads in the estates though that depends on the level of the current. There are some estates where the water reaches the waist of a fully-grown adult. That axis can be raised extensively.

“We have done the embankment, but what we need now is a solid embankment that will stand the test of time. By our own volition and from contributions, we have spent well over N800m. We put money together year in and year out, but what we have done is not solid enough and once the floodwater comes, it will collapse some of the embankment that we have done.

“The government should do a dyke which will ward off the water, and if water comes in, and we have like three of four pump stations like what they have in Holland, we will just be pumping water out and nobody will know if they released water from Oyan Dam or that there are 52 tributaries converged at the Ogun River,” Akinyemi advised.

He added that though as of Wednesday evening, the volume of the floodwater has remained the same, he received reports from two residents that the water had reduced a bit on Thursday morning.

A resident of the area and a structural engineer, who only identified himself as Pa Omigbodun, noted that he had been following the flood events in Isheri North Government Residential Area since 2007.

He explained that the reason for the annual flooding, which he observed near the valley close to the Punch Place was the formation of another channel of the River Ogun between Magbon and Ilate when water is released from Oyan Dam.

“This second channel takes the water under the Long Bridge and onwards to Isheri North GRA. Now the major issue is this talk of flood plain. The correct position is that OORBDA owes a duty of care to communities located downstream of the Oyan Dam Reservoir to ensure that the communities are not completely devastated by the flood more than they would be if there was no dam on River Oyan.

“On the River Ogun system, there are two dams, Ikere Gorge Dam with a reservoir capacity of 690 million cubic per metres, and Oyan Dam with a reservoir with a capacity of 270 million cubic per metres.

“The Ikere Gorge Dam is ungated and currently not used for flood control, though it has the potential to serve this function by utilising the dam’s bottom valves. In contrast, the gated Oyan Dam is the only facility within the Ogun River system actively employed for flood control,” Omigbodun stated.

He further clarified that, for effective flood control, residents have requested the OORBDA to manage the Oyan Dam so that it maintains a water level of 49 metres above sea level by the end of August each year.

Omigbodun insisted that this level should be maintained throughout September and that the reservoir be refilled during October, with daily water releases from it capped at less than 16 million cubic metres.

He added, “To achieve this, water would be released through the bottom valves in the first half of October, and only in the second half would the gates be used for water release. However, OORBDA has failed or refused to follow this procedure due to cage fish farming by three or more companies.

“This act carried out by OORBDA is contrary to the law establishing the RBDAs. The priorities of OORBDA according to the law should be irrigation, flood and erosion control and watershed management. However, OORBDA has abandoned flood control at Oyan Dam Reservoir for fish cage farming.

“We have asked that the fishing companies be moved out of the reservoir and these companies made to use their own resources to create ponds for their activities.”

Lagos, Ogun insist on relocation

After a tour of the areas affected by the floodwaters, the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Wahab, expressed concerns about the unsanitary activities in the communities, which he said may lead to health problems.

He, however, insisted that residents of the affected communities and other low-lying areas should relocate to higher ground.

“I would like to appeal to the property owners and residents around Ajegeunle, Itolowo, and other low-lying areas to relocate to higher ground; this is emotional, but life matters a lot.

“It has been observed that most buildings in Itolowo and its environs are constructed along the plains of the Ogun River; water will never leave for you, it will always find its way,” Wahab emphasised.

The commissioner further disclosed that as part of measures to prevent flooding in the areas, there is an ongoing extensive construction of a 3.7-kilometre outfall channel and secondary collectors on Gberigbe Road, which cuts across Abule Eko/Ijede/Igbopa to London Road in Ikorodu, jointly carried out by the state and federal governments.

Meanwhile, his Ogun State counterpart, Oresanya advised residents in the flood-prone areas, which include Riverview Estate and Isheri North, to move to higher grounds.

He explained that the floodwaters are expected to recede significantly starting from October 25 due to the dredged waterways and canals.

The commissioner also promised to continue collaborating with the Lagos State government and the Federal Government to tackle the challenge of perennial flooding in the affected areas.