Ahead of rains, states adopt anti-flooding measures

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) prediction was dire. Rains will be heavier this year in Lagos State than last year. The prediction got not only Lagos, but other states thinking on how to prevent floods. Through its Emergency Management Agency, Lagos inaugurated Drainage Maintenance Officers (DMO) in its 57 local development areas. The DMOs are to ensure sustained drainage maintenance, clearing and dredging. Other states have also adopted similar measures in readiness for the rains. OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE reports.

FOR the states, the prediction got them cracking. Even those hitherto not threatened by flood are busy preparing for the coming rains to stem their scourge. The prediction was a wake-up call of sorts from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET). It specifically focused on Lagos State, but other states are not ready to take chances by ignoring the prediction.

According to NIMET, Lagos State will experience heavier rainfall this year than last year.
In anticipation of the downpour, the government through its Emergency Management Agency on January 21, inaugurated Drainage Maintenance Officers (DMO) in the 57 councils.
The mandate of the DMOs includes sustaining drainage maintenance, clearing and dredging. The state also intensified its war against cart pushers in waste management. Cart pushers, according to the government, dump refuse at unauthorised places blocking the drainage channels.
The government also banned street trading and hawking, closing down some markets for offences ranging from filth, blocking of drain and the absence of sanitation. Markets such as Ladipo, Mile 12 and Ketu had once been shut for uncleanliness with the government, insisting its actions were for the good of the people and to check the menace of flooding when the rains come.
The Commissioner for the Environment Tunji Bello said the state had taken measures to checkmate the rains by opening up channels and de-silting its six systems.
He said: "We have system one to system six. System one is from Iya Alaro and comes all the way from Agidingbi, passes through Opebi to Maryland on to Gbagada while another comes from Shomolu to join it, to discharge into the Lagoon. System two connects the whole of Shomolu and discharges into the University of Lagos. System three incorporates the whole of Ebutta Metta, Sabo and adjoining areas and discharges into the Lagoon."
Furthermore, he said system four incorporates the railway compound and all the areas going through Surulere, Alaka discharging at the National Theatre. While system five and six take care of Babs Animashaun which goes as far as Badagry Creek and Tin Can Island.
However, he warned that those living along the flood plain of Ogun River will have themselves to blame if they fail to relocate before the rains as no drainage channel can stop flooding in the areas. Some of these places are in Mile 12, Ketu.

Ordinarily, those places are wetlands that should be preserved for the future of the state, Bello said, hinting that the state would have no choice but to remove illegal structures on drainage channels while stepping up actions to ensure the strict implementation of town planning laws and regulations.
Bracing up for this year’s rains against the backdrop of the massive destruction in Oyo State last year, Governor Abiola Ajimobi said the government would ensure strict implementation of town planning rules and regulations.
He threatened to remove all illegal structures, enact new environmental laws to implement the no-construction law within 150 metres of water ways. He warned people to desist from dumping refuse at unauthorised places and illegal construction. Ajimobi said blocking of drains is a major lift to flooding as water must find its level.
In Sokoto State where flood destroyed farm produce worth N1 billion and displaced thousands, the government has embarked on public enlightenment to stem the effects of flooding on the people and ensure best practices.
In Cross River State where houses were submerged, the government is not only educating the public on proper disposal of waste but also clearing the drains.

In Abia State, the government said it would embark on channelisation of drainage systems in Aba, the commercial city, to starve off massive flooding during the rains. It appealed to residents to learn to dispose of their waste properly and not to empty them into the channels while the government works assiduously to de-silt them to have free flow of water during the rains.
Ondo State government has also undertaken the manual and mechanical channelisation of its drainage channels.
As a state prone to flooding if not checked, its Environment Commissioner, Mr Shola Ebiseeni, said they would, once again, fault the predictions of the metrological institute that has always predicted massive flooding in the state.