Lagos Needs N13b to tackle flood

Lagos Needs N13b to tackle flood

The Lagos State commissioner for the environment, Tunji Bello, on Monday, said the state government will need about N13 billion to effectively prevent devastating flood like the one which resulted from a 16-hour rainfall on July 10.

Mr Bello disclosed this while speaking to journalists after an inspection tour of the areas affected by the flood.

The flood’s devastating impact has jolted the state government to the reality of the inadequacies of its present drainage system and the state government has applied to the federal government for aid, through the Ecological Fund Office.

Consequently, a team of inspectors, led by the permanent secretary of the ecological fund office, Ibukun Odusote, visited the state on Monday for a physical assessment of the problems.

The team visited several canals in Agege and Alimosho local government areas and some beaches in Lekki where the Atlantic Ocean has eroded several meters of land.

What must be done?

The permanent secretary of the Office of Drainage Services in Lagos State, Muyideen Akinsanya, while guiding the visiting team, said some of the drainage channels have to be expanded and some others, running into more than 11 kilometres, have to be lined with concrete to reduce the relative ease with which canals get blocked by silt.

More importantly, he said “lack of proper guiding culvert,” especially on the Lagos-Abeokuta federal road, “is causing serious ecological problems” for many communities which were submerged by the last flood.

The inspection revealed that the channels were effective where lined with concrete, but overflowed in places that were not lined with concrete.

“The earlier we are able to line the entire channel, the earlier we can facilitate the volume of flow, and the easier life gets for residents,” Mr Akiisanya said.

He also hinted that the impact of the flood might have been reduced if the federal ministry of works had been more proactive in working with the state government, especially on federal roads.

“You will also notice that most of the flooded areas are communities where the federal road passed through and we have no control over that road. Though we have been speaking with our federal colleagues, and they have been cooperating, but they have not done what is supposed to be done,” he said.

“In fact, some sections on the Lagos-Abeokuta federal road collapsed and the state government had to carry out palliative work to ease traffic burden,” Mr Akinsanya added.

‘Federal solution is coming’

Mrs Odusote assured her audience that the president will expedite actions to ensure prompt implementation of recommended solutions, even if it means bypassing some bureaucratic process.

“But definitely, there is a commitment. That is why we are here. Mr President actually directed that we should come to physically assess the situations so that we can know where the problem lies,” she said, while addressing journalists after the inspection.

“For this area, we have seen quite a lot. Definitely, we are expecting that solutions will come from the federal government; it may come as a single project or in phases,” she added, promising that the team will work in tandem with their Lagos State counterparts to ensure the recommended solutions will effectively solve flood problems in Lagos.

“Last year when there was a downpour, the federal government came in handy and provided quite a huge sum for the Lagos State government to ensure that there is mitigation. So we are expecting that this [intervention] will even be faster because some bottlenecks that were previously encountered will no longer be there,” she said.

An annual ritual

While some of the residents are happy about the inspection visit, which they said portends that a “permanent solution is on the way,” some were not so upbeat about it.

According to them, the only difference between this year’s flood and the previous ones is the number of lives lost. They claimed that annually, “ government [state] come to inspect” the extent of damage as a result of flood.

“It is an annual ritual,” said a resident in local dialect. “They will come, promise, but we do not see anything.” They also warned that “whatever solution the government is planning must not involve demolition.”.