By Esther Onyegbula

I HAD to vacate my residence because of this flood issue. It was becoming more of a death trap living here because I had to wear rain boots in my sitting room, kitchen and everywhere in the house because of the flood. And this was very risky as the ground became slippery because of the water. I couldn’t continue living there for fear of being electrocuted. While I was living there, I used to pump water out of the house with  machine. It is really devastating watching the house I built with hard earned resources while in active service before I retired being destroyed by flood.”

*Swimming to safety

On this lamenting note, Alhaja Alabi captures the agony of residents of Community Road,  off Ago-Palace Way, Okota, Lagos State. As far as these residents are concerned, Lagos State government has been unfair to them on the provision of basic infrastructural facilities, especially roads and drainage system.
According to them, Community Road, off Ago-Palace Way and environs  lack  government presence.

Accusing the government of  neglecting the community, they said the road construction project, which began many years back, was stalled at Century Bus Stop, leaving most part of Ago-Palace Way undone.
In separate chats with Sunday Vanguard, residents said the neglect of the area showed  in all aspects of living such as bad roads and lack of drainage system. The worst hit areas are: Chris Harry Crescent (where residents wear rain boots in their living rooms), Austin Obuador Street, Femi Fatoyinbo Street, Ejike Udoye Crescent and Mike Maduabuchi Street.
The residents called on the governor to intervene and rescue them from flood.

Origin of problem
Sunday Vanguard gathered that the problem started a few years back when development began in the community without people taking cognizance of  flood with Omonile (indigenous land owners) selling every available piece of land even if they knew it will affect drainage flow. The situation was compounded along Ago-Palace Way.
For instance, Chris Harry Crescent connects Ohafia Street but the land in between was later sold and buildings erected down the road preventing free flow of run-off rain water. Whenever it rains, the entire flood from Community Road empties into Chris Harry Crescent.

Plight
Alhaja Alabi, a landlady in the area, said: “You can see our plight; everywhere in the community is water-logged, there is no movement because there is no drainage. School children whose parents don’t have vehicles have to wade through these waters when going or returning from school. Tenants have all vacated their rented apartments, anybody you find living around this community is a landlord not a tenant. As I speak with you, some landlords have vacated their houses too. Tenants who rented shops can no longer open their shops because there is water inside their shops which they keep bailing  out. I can’t sleep in my house anymore because of the flood. I now sleep in my shop. All my tenants have parked out. Governor Fashola should please assist this community. The suffering has become unbearable. As law-abiding citizens, we should not be subjected to this manner of suffering after voting for him during the last election and I also pay tenement rate to government. If the flood is properly channeled we won’t be having these issues.”

Another  resident, Chief Azubuike, said, “We didn’t build houses here with the mind of living inside flood like we are doing presently. In my compound, I wear rain boots. I park my car at the entrance of the other street. The last time it rained, I discovered that water was coming from underneath into the main building. It is a pathetic situation.
“We don’t want to believe that government has abandoned us here because majority of the people that own houses here are Igbo. We have heard government officials say they don’t have plans for this area but they have plans to generate revenue from the area. Things are not done that way. We are not demanding for road construction, all we are asking is drainage channels.”

Community intervention
Harry said that  controlling the flood is a capital project and not something  residents could do alone. “Every year, the community residents come together; contribute resources and sand fill the entire community. The amount of granite underneath is unbelievable but, because of the marshy area, the granite keeps going under. So the residents have in their own little way done their best to tackle this situation to no avail. The only institution capable of putting an end to this scourge is government.
“What we spend annually attempting to tackle this flood challenge runs into millions. We have not felt government presence in the area. The only time government officials come around this community is when they are campaigning. They don’t consider our votes because if they do, they would intervene. I pay tax, land use charge to the same government that has done nothing to alleviate our plight.”

Solution
He continued: “We don’t mind partnering with government to end this menace. All we want is a drainage system that will channel the flood to the canal which is close by. If a drainage system is put in place, the flood problem along Ago-Palace Way would be a thing of the past. The challenge we are facing on Community Road is a fallout of the flood on Ago-Palace Way.

The local government people are aware of our plight. Sometime ago, some stakeholders in the community had a meeting with the local government chairman and he gave them about three tipper loads of red sand which complicated issues when it rained. So it is not the filling of this place that is the problem. Community Road is a state government road. This road leads to Isheri. What we require is urgent government intervention to save this community from the scourge. Our properties and investments are wasting away. Once the flood is channeled to the canal, the entire problem would be dealt with.”