Flooding: Residents appeal to LASG, FG to fix Lagos roads, drains

Some residents of Lagos on Friday renewed appeals on the Lagos State and Federal Governments to fix roads and expand drains in the state to curb flooding.

The residents, in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), spoke as an early downpour left several roads flooded, leading to gridlock as workers made their way to their offices.

They said that the morning rain caused gridlock because most of the shallow drains could not withstand the water volume, which was compounded by bad state of some roads.

A resident of Gowon Estate, in Egbeda, Mr Adedayo James, told NAN that his entire estate was flooded due to poor drainage channels.

“The entire area was like a river; it was difficult for us to even leave our houses. The roads are bad, and every exit from the estate was locked down by flood; it was difficult.

“The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) should go back to the drawing board to give Gowon Estate a facelift; if not, it will soon turn into a slum,’’ he said.

A resident of Alimosho, Mrs Salome Qedone, said that adjoining streets in her area were flooded, affecting movement.

“In my area, all the streets around us were flooded, and because I did not want to walk through the flood which was almost at waist level, I had to take a vehicle across, instead of walking to the bus stop,’’ she said.

A fruit seller in Idi Oro Market in Mushin, who simply identified herself as Iya Ahmed, also appealed to government to expand drainage channels in the area.

“I have been living in this area and selling in this market for over 15 years and this problem is always like this every year.

“We are always afraid when the cloud gathers because we know that will be the beginning of problems for us both at home and in this market; we want both Lagos State and Federal Government to help up with big gutters.

A NAN correspondent who went round some areas reports that Oyinlola Street, around Adealu Bus Stop area of Iyana Ipaja, was submerged toward the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway end as residents struggled to free the drainage channels to reduce the impact.

Also, various portions of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway still under construction were flooded, causing slow moving traffic.

Around Mushin and the popular Idi Oro Market, traders and residents waded through the flood while vehicles drove slowly through.

NAN investigations revealed that some residents of Magboro and other communities along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway heading for Lagos Island also spent hours in gridlock due to the flooded roads.