As Lagos and Ogun residents reel from the effects of heavy rains and flash floods in recent weeks, residents of Denro- Ishashi in Ifo Local Government Area (LGA) of Ogun state, have raised the alarm on fallouts from release of waters from the Oyan Dam.
Residents lamented that they were not given any prior notice by the Ogun State government or management of the dam before the release of the water. Though most said it was a yearly occurrence during the rains, they lamented the fact that the Denro-Ishashi-Akute road from Akute to access Ojodu-Berger without needing to go through Alagbole has been heavily flooded. The water level on the road is above the knee level and the pathway residents must navigate precarious as debris are strewn in the water. As locals lament, some crisis merchants now make brisk business by conveying people across the water for fees ranging from N100 and N200 per person. Some even use canoe to ferry road users across the water.
Kayode Afolabi, a resident said that they started observing the rising waters in June. “It is a very tiring experience because alternative routes are longer and transport operators have increased the fares astronomically. I get to work very late in the mornings and get back late“
His position is shared by Nnesoma Amakri who said that she works outside the community and her wards must make the longer journey to school and get there very late.
The case of Balogun Amusan is more dire as he explained to News Archade that his furnishing business is now on the line due to low patronage from customers who are not ready to wade through the flood to access his wares.
Besides, they fear that if they continue wading through the flood on foot they might end up with some diseases as the water has a muddy colour and putrid smell occasioned by the many sewage systems that the flood waters has breached.
The effects of the rains are however not limited to Lagos as the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, disclosed recently that in the last eight months, floods in Nigeria; mostly flash floods, have inundated 33 out of 36 states and FCT, affected over 508,000 persons, leading to about 372 deaths, 277 injured persons, destruction of about 37,633 houses, and loss of huge numbers of livestock and several farmlands submerged.
Ahmed said the states mostly affected were Adamawa, Jigawa, Taraba, Kano, Bauchi, Niger, Anambra and Ebonyi. The Presidency had equally said since January, destructive floods had killed 115 persons, displaced 73,379 and injured 277 others in 22 states and the FCT.