If the recommendations of the Federal Government panel on flood devastation is anything to go by, then all houses built on waterways across the country may soon be demolished to make way for free flow of water.
Reports from various agencies of government have shown that much of the havoc wreaked by flood recently in the country are the result of indiscriminate construction of buildings on water courses thereby making such buildings susceptible to danger in the event of any downpour.
The Federal Government agencies, as well as those from Ogun State, recently assessed the flood situation caused by the release of water from the Oyan Dam after which the panel said government was not considering construction of more dams in the affected areas.
The team comprising officials from the Federal Ministry of Environment, National Emergency Management Agency, Julius Berger, among others, had been assessing the affected areas for more than one week. The NEMA Coordinator, South-West, Lugard Slaku, while talking to the press recently said that instead of constructing dams, the team stated that buildings erected on waterways might have to give way.
When asked if the team had considered constructing more dams in the area to check the floods, Slaku replied, “No, they didn’t bring up the issue of building more dams. But they believe that there are places where buildings block the flow of water and if those structures are cleared, water will pass normally. And if there is any other issue, then we still start thinking of dams. But right now, there is nothing about the construction of dams yet.”
He added, “NEMA went there with all other stakeholders, including Julius Berger, Federal Ministry of Environment, Urban Planning Commission, everyone that has one thing or the other to offer, was there. “And we discovered that one of the areas that was reserved as a green area and was not meant for buildings now has houses on it. We also discovered that even the construction of the road is part of the problem.