22nd July, 2015
In the last few years, torrential rains, accompanied by gale-forcewinds have wreaked havoc by leaving in its wake death and destruction. Crops, livestock, properties and lives were lost all over the country, while in eastern Nigeria the level of soil erosion resulting in massive landslides in some instances is alarming.
In spite of warnings by experts, we have continued in our destructive ways which include indiscriminate felling of trees, gas flaring, bush burning and destruction of forest rserves among others. Nature, that Janus-faced phenomenon, has been blamed in many instances for all these woes while our own ways of life, many of which have never been environmental friendly, especially in Lagos, have not been taken into consideration.
The last few weeks of rainstorms in Lagos State have again exposed the danger residents face in the city and the nonchalant attitude to how we manage nature. On Monday last week, an early morning rain swept through Lagos, claiming lives and properties. In some parts of the city the storm damaged houses and submerged neighbourhoods while over 200 Lagosians were rendered homeless.
Agreed, torrential rains are typical of coastal areas such as Lagos, so we expect flooding in the low lands, especially beside bodies of water. Therefore, we need a good drainage system to de-flood these areas whenever it rains. But the way we treat drainage channels causes flooding whenever the rains come, because some residents see nothing wrong in dumping their refuse into gutters, believing that the water will carry it away. Others build structures on the right of way of storm water and we all know that water must find its level, so it backs up and destroys whatever it can.
While the efforts of the Lagos State government is commendable, we believe there is still more to do. The Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, is doing a lot but some of the PSP operators have refused to work in some areas, citing non-payment of fees. So, residents are forced to dump their refuse by the side of the road or into the canal, thus compounding the problem of flooding.
PSP operators must find some way to reconcile with their customers so that we can all reap the fruits of a better environment. The Drain Ducks under the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment is doing its best but how many gutters can it clear and evacuate the debris before the rains come fully?
Some of the canals are being cleared by contractors while the state government is clearing others, yet flooding continues to occur in some places whenever it rains. The Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET, had warned early in the year of heavy rains but it seems we are still too ill-prepared to handle the situation which results in casualties. The new government of Akinwunmi Ambode needs to get a handle on things to prevent residents from being swept away by the angry floods if and when they come.