Olakunle Olafioye, Henry Okonkwo and James Ojo Adakole
Few years ago when Mr Olalekan Ishaq was seeking affordable accommodation, which his meagre income could sustain without much strain on his other needs, Ajala area in Ijaiye-Ojokoro Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State provided him with one.
But hardly had he moved into the neighbourhood when it suddenly dawned on him that the canal in the area could pose a serious threat to his family. This, according to him, partly explained the reason for the affordability of accommodation in the area at the time. “Occasionally, when I had to leave home early, I often had the strange feeling that something was haunting the community, especially part of the community that had been deserted owing to flooding from the canal”, he recalled.
Getaways for criminals
Ishaq’s fear about the area being haunted was confirmed sometime last year when residents of the area woke up to a sordid reality that the canal in the area had suddenly become a hideout and slaughtering slab for ritual killers.
“I was one of the few people that heard the sharp screaming, which resulted in the arrest of two ritual killers and the rescue of two of their victims last year,” he revealed.
At Ekoro area in Agbado-Oke Odo LCDA of Lagos, residents recounted how criminal elements used the canal in the community as a getaway channel when going or returning from their criminal outings.
A woman who simply identified herself as Paulina told Sunday Sun that she was once ordered by some people she suspected to be criminals to get inside while she was trying to set out, to keep an early morning appointment. “It was on a Thursday morning few minutes to 5:00 a.m. I needed to get to the Island before 7:00 a.m so, I decided to set out early. I was few yards away from my house when I heard a voice from the canal, ordering me to go back. Although I didn’t see them clearly because it was still dark, but I think they were not less than five,” she said.
Ironically, canals that are meant to provide succour to the people from flooding, especially during rainy season are now becoming a major source of fear for residents living around them as findings have shown that criminal elements now use them to perpetrate their atrocities, especially during the dry season.
But the onset of rains does not come with respite either. The widespread perception that ‘rains are showers of blessings’, definitely does not make any sense to most residents of several communities close to canals in Lagos metropolis. This is because every shower seems to trigger hell and agony for them.
Many residents in densely populated Lagos communities like Oworo, Ijesha, Bariga, Aguda, Ogudu, Ikorodu, Lagos Island, Mushin and Ojo to mention a few, lamented how they suffer untold anguish because of blockages in the canals around them, which hinder free flow of water out of their neighbourhoods. Hence, any slight rainfall leaves the entire area submerged in a huge deluge of stagnant water that not only wreaks havoc in their houses, but which also exposes them to several health hazards.
Rains as harbinger of anguish
Sunday Sun during a visit to some of the communities observed that dirty floodwater, impassable roads, and submerged houses are common sights in most of these communities even several days after the rain has stopped falling. It was also noticed that canals within these communities that were dug as water channels have been overtaken by thick foliage. Some residents told our correspondent that the canals in their area have been overgrown by bushes because they were left uncleared of silt and refuse for several years.
At Urban Renewal Community, a bustling commune at Oworo, in Kosofe Local Government area of Lagos State, Sunday Sun observed that so many houses and blocks of shops had been deserted because the residents were sacked from their property by flood. Some of the residents lamented government’s failure to yield to their pleas for intervention.
“I’ve been living here since 1996,” said Mr Badiwa, chairman, Ojileru Landlords Association (OLA). According to Badiwa, the community’s woes started during the land reclamation project in 2017.
“When the state government sand-filled the lagoon, initially, the canal from Olopomeji channeled water from the Oworo communities into the lagoon. But because of the reclamation project that took place two years ago, the lagoon was sand-filled with no proper provision to design how to channel the water. When they were sand filling the lagoon, they surveyed and told us that they planned to build a straight canal to move the water, but when they started work, we noticed that the canal they were digging was bent, and they left so much sand.
“A canal is supposed to be straight, but they didn’t construct a proper channel for water to flow. And the water doesn’t flow out because there are so many blockades inside the canal. Hence, when we have any little rainfall, floodwater from other parts of Oworo invades and takes over our community. It affects our health and exposes our families to lots of dangers.”
Also speaking, the CDA Secretary, Mrs Olowo, while decrying their condition described their losses and pains. “Among the canals in Oworo, this one here is the worst. And we’re really suffering terribly because of it. The floods from Oworo and the hinterlands empty into this canal and it doesn’t flow out. So, the floods take over and wreak calamity on us. Here in Urban Renewal, we have over 30 streets and together tasked ourselves and contributed money to clear the canals in January before the elections. Our effort eased our pain a little, but it did little to solve the problem. So many of our property have been destroyed and many others have been abandoned. That is why you see so many deserted houses here at Ojileru Crescent,” she said.
Effutide community in Aguda-Coker LCDA of Lagos State is another area that is being ravaged by flood due to blockage in the canal in the area. Some of the residents also toldSunday Sun that their streets and houses get flooded after the rains. “Each rainfall brings indescribable pain and losses to us,” said one of the residents, Mr Ebenezer Omejalile.
“Our canal is blocked and has been taken over by debris and grasses, thereby making it difficult for water to be effectively channeled. The canal was cleared about six years ago by former Governor Babatunde Fashola and there was respite for two years, but it has since become a nightmare for us. Whenever it rains, everywhere, including our living rooms, gets flooded. The flood keeps destroying my property, my rugs, cushions, and electrical appliances. And even after the rains we still have to scoop water out from our rooms for several days.”
Residents of Ijesha, another densely populated area of Surulere, also suffer similar untold hardship of flooding as a result of the blockages of the canal in the area. According to them, it becomes difficult for people to freely go about their activities after the rains because of the massive flooding.
“The canal often gets overflowed and blocked. Now, it has been overgrown with grasses. This is causing huge flooding in the whole area now that we are in the rainy season. We are really suffering,” they said.
Several neighbourhoods like Abimbola Street, Oderinde Drive, Akinrosoye Street, Adelakun Street, and Abogunloko, all in Ikotun area of Lagos are not immune to this menace of flooding occasioned by improper maintenance of the canal in their community. Some of the residents in this community complained that they have been living in fear, especially during the rainy season due to the level of danger and destruction caused by the blockage in the canal in the area.
According to them, the canal that connects the Ikotun market with Agodo-Egbe has been blocked for some time now, resulting in continuous flooding. “Our situation is made worse by the rain. Apart from the health hazards, the flooding has been destroying property and our children cannot go out whenever it rains due to fear of drowning,” Mr John Okire, a resident of the community, disclosed.
Lagosians residing in highbrow areas of the state such as Ogudu, Ajah and Lagos Island are equally victims of destruction and health hazards caused by the poor state of most canals in the state.
“The canal in our community has been blocked for almost eight years,” Mr Ajayi Japheth, CDA chairman, Bosun Ajibade Olukoya Community, told Sunday Sun.
“Initially, water flowed from Ketu into Ogudu through the canal here at Janet Olukoya Street. But after the canal got blocked, we’ve been suffering because many of our streets and communities like Bosun Ajibade, Osinowo streets and even right into Ogudu are massively flooded whenever it rains,” he said.
Unheeded calls for succour
The Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, during his inauguration in May vowed that his administration would give environmental issues topmost priority. But many residents of the communities close to canals said their pleas for succour from the state government have gone unheeded.
“We’ve written series of letters to the government officials after the rain destroyed our homes. But they’ve not answered us”, Mrs Olowo said. She added, “before the election many politicians kept coming here, making series of promises. But up till now, we’ve not seen anything at all. So, we call on our governor and also appeal to our representative from Kosofe Constituency 1, Ganiyu Okanlawon, to come to aid.
“We have also written to government several times. In 2017, we wrote letters to the state government. They sent officials from Alausa to visit the canal to ascertain the extent of damage and the work to be done. But after that visit, we didn’t get to hear anything from them. Our government should please help us.”
Yet another promise
When contacted, the Director, Public Affairs and Research, Ministry of the Environment, Mr Kunle Adeshina, disclosed that the new administration in Lagos State was not oblivious of the plight of residents living around canals in the state, noting that measures are being taken to address the issue.
He told Sunday Sun: “The present administration is tackling the issue of drainage overflowing frontally. If you check the major newspapers in the country recently, there is a story on commencement of clearing of canals and drainages all over the state issued by my office. Lagos State government has never shirked on its responsibility of safeguarding lives and property of its citizens and would continue to do so.”
Mr Adeshina, however, stressed the need for residents to collaborate with the government in a bid to permanently address the issue, noting that such synergy was essential to tackle environmental issues in the state.
The ministry, he said, has put in place enlightenment and advocacy programmes aimed at educating residents on the dangers of dumping refuse in canals and drains while efforts are also ongoing to discourage people from building houses around canals.
“What is uppermost in this respect is that the residents should also do the needful by not dumping waste in the canals and drains as such waste could come back to wreak havoc.
“Enlightenment and advocacy have been a continuous exercise and the present administration would also use opinion leaders and traditional rulers to influence the residents on why they should not dump refuse in the drainages and join government in making them free flowing.
“Like you know, every adult knows when danger is approaching without being told, but if people decide to build or live near canals despite the inherent dangers, we will only continue to appeal to them that there is only one life, which is irreplaceable if lost,” he said.
Asked about the efforts being made by the government to stamp out criminals who use canals as their base to attack residents, Mr Adeshina stated that it would no longer be business as usual, stressing that the ministry has partnered with relevant security agencies even as clearance of canals are ongoing.
“The issue of canal acting as hiding spot for criminals would not be tenable anymore because a massive clearance and maintenance is underway,” he said.