Traders and residents at Idumagbo, Lagos Island, on Saturday decried the problem of flood in the area, due to blocked water pipes leading to the Lagoon.
The traders and and residents told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews that the heavy rains on Saturday morning caused damage to their goods and property.
They told NAN that various state and local government interventions over the years had not worked, as the desired solution to solve the problem had not been applied.
A trader, who resides in the area, Mr. Afolabi Olaribigbe, said that the state government had not been fair to the residents of Idumagbo.
”I was born here and have shops here also, and since l can remember, this area has suffered flooding continuously.
”Worst hit by this flooding in the area are this Idumagbo Avenue, just coming from Adeniji Adele Bridge to Idumota, Biniyo Street where l reside, both left and right of Ojo Giwa Street and the Jankara Market.
”On my own, l am volunteering doing the cleaning of the debris because l do not like dirty environment and it irritates me, and I have been doing it for years.
”The problem of flooding in the area is well known to me and the elders, and l hope that the Government will seek our advice and opinion before embarking on work to remedy the situation.
”What the Local Government is doing now will not solve the problem, however, we are grateful that the drainage system is being upgraded,” he said.
Olaribigbe, another resident popularly known as Mr White, said that ridding the area of flooding did not require much, as the elders had studied the situation and could advice the government on how it would be done properly.
A dealer on cleaning tools with a shop at Biniyo Street, Mr Josephat Obi, said that he had stayed for over 18 years in the area.
”Since l can remember, no government has been able to handle the work that would stop flooding in the area.
”Some buildings have been constructed blocking the passage of water from the canal into the Lagoon.
”For any intervention to be successful, all those obstructions along the drainage rights of way must be removed.
“Then, the drainage system being constructed should be done in such a way that the water accumulated from the streets flows toward the canal.
”The way the drainage systems are now, the water flows backwards instead of forward, considering the fact that the drainage is blocked.
”The Local Government for the past six months has been constructing the drainage systems and work is still ongoing.
“But we do not know whether after it is completed it will stop flooding in the area,” he said.
Obi said that they had doubts because the traders and residents knew that proper solution to curb flooding in the area was beyond what the local Government could do.
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Another trader selling building tools at Ojo Giwa Street, Mr Abiodun Olowu, called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to urgently address the flooding issue in the area.
”You can see that our shops are flooded and properties destroyed and without boots we cannot stand outside our shops or homes.
”The burst water pipe has worsened the situation. The whole of Ojo Giwa Street down to Jankara Market is flooded and the water is knee deep.
”You can see it for yourself. At the Jankara side, there is a Police Station and it is flooded too.
”We are tired, and we thank God for a new Governor, hoping that opening up the area for water to flow to stop flooding would be his priority,” he said.
Olowu said that the traders had lost their customers as nobody would enter the water to buy anything.
He said that they carry out the monthly sanitation exercise every Thursday and ensure that no dirt is left, as it can be washed back into the drainage system.
A passerby, who wanted to remain anonymous, said that the area needed urgent government. intervention stressing that one cannot come from Adeniji Adele without going through the water to Idumota, Tinubu Streets and other parts of Lagos Island.
He said that because of the flooding, cars could not pass through some parts of the road.
“We do not even know what we are stepping into and how it will affect us health wise,” he said. (NAN)
