Lagos govt to residents: Expect more rains

•Demolishes shanties along Lagos-Badagry highway

THE Lagos State government, has warned residents of continued heavy rainfall with attendant flash floods across Lagos and coastal areas in the coming weeks.  

The warning comes following persistent heavy downpour with high levels of flooding across the metropolis. 

The rainfall, which lasted several hours, submerged property and roads in Lagos, halted commercial activities and vehicular movement.

Some residents had to bail out stormwater from their homes to stay safe.

Speaking during an inspection of the ongoing dislodgement exercise along the busy highway, at Lagos-Badagry Expressway, the Commissioner for Environment, Mr Tokunbo Wahab stressed the need for residents to support government’s efforts on mitigating the effects of flooding in the state.

Explaining the recent flooding witnessed across Lagos, the commissioner described it as flash flooding caused by heavy rainfall coinciding with high sea levels, which temporarily prevented stormwater from discharging into the lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean.

Wahab said: “Flash flooding is basically when the sea level is up. When it rains heavily, your stormwater cannot discharge into the lagoon or its discharge point. It will hold back for about one or two hours. 

“Even after the rain stops, within one or two hours, the water will recede because nature allows it to return to the discharge point. That’s why we call it flash flooding.”

He, however, noted that the state government was addressing areas experiencing persistent flooding, blaming some of the problems on illegal land reclamation by land-owning families.

He said: “There are one or two areas that have persistent flooding, and we are addressing them. One of them is Ajiran. We are calling them out.

“We are extending the drainage channels to the lagoon. Those are the issues we are addressing.”

On the demolition of shanties, the Commissioner said the state government would permanently enforce the ban on illegal trading and occupation of the median along the axis, warning that offenders who return after the ongoing clearance exercise will be removed and prosecuted.

He said: “We just need to see the level of compliance and the level of work that has been done based on the directive of the governor.

“We’ve drawn the mark on the ground. It’s a major highway. Tons of taxpayers’ money have been used to put this in place. In the past few years, we’ve been talking to them and moving them back."

“For now, the operation is once and for all to control it. Let the businesses have a setback and make the median free for all road users.”

Asked how the government intended to prevent a return of illegal occupants, Wahab said: “We will continue to patrol and monitor every day.”

Speaking on indiscriminate waste disposal observed during the inspection, Wahab blamed residents and traders for dumping refuse on road medians, saying the practice contributed to recent flash flooding experienced in parts of the state.

He said: “Keep our surroundings clean. Let us use the PSP operators. If they are not coming, call LAWMA. Inform LAWMA. Let LAWMA come and take your waste.

“It doesn’t speak well of us for people to take waste from their homes and dump it on the median. It’s a polluter-pays policy, but some people are not even paying.

“We have been prosecuting. In the past year, over 1,000 people have been prosecuted. We are not holding back. That is what the law provides for. Once there is a law, you must enforce it and attach consequences for bad behaviour.”

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