Akpevwe Okuse
Residents of Lagos State have lamented over the heavy downpour that has overtaken residential areas and major roads across the State.
The rain, which lasted for many hours on Wednesday, resulted in severe flooding in various parts of the city, including Ibeju-Lekki, Ketu, Oworonshoki, Oshodi, Epe, Sangotedo, and Awoyaya, others.
Some residents attributed the flooding to the blocked waterways due to indiscriminate dumping of waste in the localities.
Mr. Rasheed Ayobami, a resident of the Labora area, said his house was submerged because of the lack of a functional drainage system in his neighborhood.
‘We’re homeless’
“There is too much water flowing into my compound; the entire house is submerged. I live in a new site where there is no drainage, which makes the water run into residential homes, rendering us homeless because we can’t sleep inside the water,” he said.
Another resident, Seyi Arowosaye, decried the perennial flooding on the Ibeju-Lekki Expressway due to blocked drains in the metropolis.
Arowosaye called on the Ibeju-Lekki Local Government to clear the drains and urged residents to desist from dumping waste in the drainage systems to control flooding.
He also urged the Lagos State Government to speed up the completion of road repairs in the Sangotedo area.
Mrs. Bola Fadugba lamented the effects of the downpour and flooding in the Labora area: “I live in Labora, but during the rainy season, I relocate with my family to my younger sister’s house in the Eputu area. Flood has taken over my house due to lack of drainage in the environment.
“So many areas in the metropolis are also affected by flooding; the government should find a lasting solution to this perennial flooding challenge,” she said. Motorists have to spend hours on the road coming through Alapere to the Third Mainland Bridge.
Also, heavily flooded was the Iyana-Oworo-Olopomeji area heading to the Third Mainland Bridge, causing heavy traffic that extended to Alapere.
The downpour caused a tree to fall around Airport U-turn in Oshodi. Personnel of the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) were on hand to clear the fallen tree from the road to facilitate traffic flow and ensure public safety.