Residents of several communities in Magboro, in the Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, have appealed to the state government to rescue them from flooding, which has paralysed socio-economic activities in the area.
Many houses and businesses in the council were affected by the flood, which resulted from a downpour that started on Wednesday and continued into the early hours of Thursday.
gathered that many residents of Sparklight and Redstar estates, Powerline, Cele, Gasline, and Oke-Afa communities, were stranded on Thursday as major roads connecting the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway were flooded.
As of Friday morning, the floodwater at the main gate leading to Sparklight Estate close to Hi-Impact Amusement Park had receded, but the estate’s back gate linking Oke-Afa Road was still flooded and avoided by motorists and motorcyclists.
A resident, John Akinyemi, said he could not go to work on Thursday because of the situation.
He said, “To be sincere, I was traumatised when I got to the estate’s main gate and saw the magnitude of the flood. It has never been like this since I relocated here. The water reached the waist level of those who managed to walk through it, but I can’t take such a risk because one can be swept away.
“My daughter couldn’t go to school and my wife too couldn’t go to her office. The water began to recede last night yet, one or two people on the estate saw snakes on the road yesterday evening (Thursday) and I think they were also displaced by the flood. But the back gate road is still heavily flooded and not motorable.”
When our correspondent visited Redstar Housing Estate in Magboro, the main roads were still flooded and some residents were seen wading through the water.
It was gathered that in Oke-Afa, Ilupeju, Olowofela, and Kajola communities, the flood prevented many children, shop owners, and business operators from going out, as school buses, cars, and commercial motorcycles could not pass through the flood.
Our correspondent observed that while some residents waded through the flood to reach their various destinations, others resorted to commercial canoes to convey them across the water.
A resident, Seun Edun, complained that the commercial canoe operators turned their misfortune into an opportunity to make brisk money.
He said, “I had an appointment with someone yesterday but I had to cancel it because that flood was massive. Today (Friday), I had no choice but to take the canoe to get to where I was going and they charged between N200 and N500. This is frustrating. I want the government to come to our rescue.”
Another resident, Ben Owiadolor, said the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, promised to tackle the problem if re-elected, but he had yet to fulfil the promise.
He said, “As we speak now, the children in Oke-Afa and its environs didn’t go to school today (Friday) because it is dangerous to wade through that water current. People are using canoes to navigate the water. My wife runs a crèche and when she took some children across, the water entered her car because the water level goes beyond the knees up to the waist. This is a portion of land that we have worked on from time to time; the community would contribute money to raise the land level but these efforts failed.
“About two or three years ago, we wrote to Julius Berger and the Federal Ministry of Works because we felt that the water channelled from the highway around the Mountain of Fire side was being diverted to the water channel, which brings the flood to us.
“The community has made efforts through the Community Development Council and appealed to the Ogun State government. In February this year, we received a letter from the government that they were aware of the situation and they intended to give it some attention if we supported Governor Dapo Abiodun’s re-election. This we did, but we have not received any intervention.”
The Secretary, Magboro Area Community Development Council, Mr Kolawole Popoola, told City Round that although several letters of appeal had been written before, a reminder would be sent to the state government.
“We want the government to come to our aid immediately and at least do something to clear the empty bottles and plastics blocking the drains from here to Arepo; it will ameliorate the problem of the people.
“The rainy season is just starting in full swing, and more downpours are expected, so we appeal to the government for intervention. There are some companies here that have blocked the drains, especially beside the BuildWell factory and this has caused even the road in front of this company to be flooded. We have complained about this several times and nothing has been done about it.
“It has never been like this; it is an emergency situation. As I am talking to you, I can’t go to work since yesterday; our wives can’t go to the market, and we are all stranded at home; even bikes cannot commute. I just hope it doesn’t rain heavily between now and Tuesday because things will go from bad to worse,” he said.
