Now That The Rains Are Here

Opinion

By Bilikis Bakare

For generations, rainfall has been known to serve as showers of divine blessings as it had always provided the needed blessings that mankind needed for survival. Rain water has constantly been nature’s solution to drought and famine. Therefore, while the approaching of the rainy season delights the farmers and also a boost to electricity supply, for residents of Lagos, a coastal state, the wet season is not always the best time of the year. It is a period that comes with the intimidating challenge of flooding. And when it happens, many homes are swamped, property worth fortune are destroyed and sometimes human lives are involved as the floods tide sweep away everything in their path, leaving residents to recount tales of woes. To an average Lagosians, rainfall could be a curse rather than a blessing.

Nigeria enjoys the humid tropical climate type because of its location just north of the equator. The tropical climate is characterized by the hot and wet conditions associated with the movement of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) north and south of the equator. Usually, the country experiences consistently high temperatures all year round. Since temperature varies only slightly, rainfall distribution, over space and time, becomes the single most important factor in differentiating the seasons and climatic regions.

The Southern part of the country experiences long rainy season which starts in March and lasts to the end of July, with a peak period in June. And like all states in the southern part, Lagos has a tropical wet and dry climate with two distinct rainy seasons; the more intense one occurs between April and July, with a milder one from October to November.

At the peak of the rainy season the weather in Lagos is wet about half the time. Usually, whenever it rains heavily across the state, there is a rise in the Lagoon and ocean, which automatically locks up all the canals which had already been blocked with litters by residents due to indiscriminate dumping of refuse. When the water in the ocean and Lagoon recedes, the canals will discharge into these water bodies; but it takes a long time for this process to take place due to the slow movement of water in these canals which had previously been blocked by refuse. This naturally  results in flooding noticed in the metropolis.

However, flash flood is noticed on the road after continuous rainfall which definitely disappears after the canals are able to empty into the water bodies.

Unauthorised building of structures on the pathways of water by citizens in the state is another major cause of flooding. People build structures without obtaining approvals from the State Ministry of Urban and Regional Planning, thereby contravening the law and distorting the State’s master plan. It is a known fact that usually flooding occurs in the metropolitan areas as a result of urbanization which leads to generation of more wastes that are being dumped indiscriminately in the drainage channels.

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To prevent tragedies that have characterized this season previously, the State Government has been cleaning, clearing and de-silting of drainages and canals on the highways and streets in the metropolis prior to the coming of the rains. Therefore, the residents of the State should brace up for the task of ensuring a zero tolerance for flooding by fulfilling their own part through constant cleaning of the drainage channels and by desisting from dumping their wastes arbitrarily.

Also, Lagosians should take the issue of obtaining approvals before erecting their buildings in order not to build on drainage channels, thereby blocking free flow of water whenever it rains. In addition, there some flood plain areas in the State which are susceptible to flood. Areas like Ajegunle, Owode Onirin and Owode Elede in Kosofe Local Government Area, Kuramo Beach, Alpha Beach on the Island as well as Mende-Maryland, Ijora-Badia and Iwaya among others fall in this category. As a result of the incessant rainfall which seems to have begun for the year, the Lagos State government has advised residents living in the low line areas (flood plains) to relocate due to the rising level of water from the rainfall. This is essential for affected residents because of the persistent rains since March which had led to the rise in water level of the lagoons and rivers as a result of back-flow into adjoining low line areas.

In the same vein, residents should observe the weather condition before leaving their homes or other locations and should stay off the roads if they do not have any business being there since usually, there are traffic gridlock on major roads and stranded commuters have to pay increased fares for the few bus drivers who were willing to risk travelling on the roads. This act will also prevent loss of lives as witnessed a couple of years back when it was reported that a couple lost their lives when they were trapped in their vehicle by flood in Ketu area of Lagos on their way back from church.

Due to the enormity of this often human induced environmental disaster, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, represented by his Deputy, Dr Oluranti Idiat Adebule at the 2015 World Environmental Day urged residents not to panic over the heavy and persistent rainfall noticed in the state, saying Lagos has taken adequate measures to prevent disastrous flooding. He appealed to Lagosians to desist from throwing refuse into drainages, citing that the practice is more harmful to the environment and human well being.

The Governor noted that human-induced changes in the environment were affecting the wellbeing of the people every moment in the state and that people cannot sustain their healthy living if they continue to destroy the environment. Therefore, it is important for Lagosians to be environmentally friendly because as the Governor pointed out, people cannot continue to degrade the environment and expect to reap benefits and peace from it.

With natural disasters occurring across the world, as a result of the abuse of the environment, this is the time for everyone to have a rethink about our attitude to the environment.  That we have not experienced monumental environmental tragedy should not be taken for granted that we are immune from such. Thus, we must take our destiny in our hands and do all the needful to ward off avoidable natural calamities. Hence, the need for everyone to support the state government in protecting the environment.

•Bakare is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.

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