The challenge of flooding in Lagos

According to the United Nation’s projection, Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital would have been the third largest city on the planet by 2015, due to the exponential population growth in the city over the years. In the mid 1970s, the state was home to about 2.5 million people. But conservatively put now, the population had risen to about 25 million!

Lagos’ population has so much grown in leaps and bounds in the past few years that it has taken its toll on infrastructure provision and general development in the State. The challenge of governing diverse people of varying backgrounds and cultural orientation is indeed intimidating. On a daily basis, thousands of visitors throng the city from all the states of the federation and beyond. The common parlance, the bigger the head, the bigger the headache describes the situation of Lagos in terms of provision of and maintenance of infrastructure.

As it is with other mega cities like New York, New Delhi Jakarta and so on, the population growth in Lagos brings with it challenges, ranging from environmental to transportation and provision of good road network among others. However, apart from the aforementioned challenges, the State is peculiar as a substantial part of the metropolis is covered by water, a fact which makes the provision of some infrastructure such as road network and means of transportation difficult and expensive.

As earlier mentioned, Lagos State is an island surrounded by various sizes of water bodies, from the Lagos lagoon to different beaches scattered around the city, these natural endowments make the state susceptible to flooding. Although it usually carries a negative connotation, flooding is quite a natural process and is simply the response of a natural system (a river system) to the presence of too much water during an interval of time. What this connotes is that flooding can be caused by heavy rains, melting snow and ice, and frequent storms within short time duration.

But in as much as it is agreed that flooding is a natural phenomenon, there are some activities of man that predisposes to it. The common practice of building houses near rivers and other bodies of water (i.e., within natural floodplains) has contributed to the disastrous consequences of floods. In Lagos State, the building of houses near rivers and beaches is fast becoming a fad among the elites. These edifices usually come in the way of free flow of water bodies whenever there are heavy downpours. These houses often come with poor drainage channels connecting them to the bigger canals and water channels.

Similarly, poor and nonchalant waste disposal habit is a major cause of flooding in the State. It is a common sight to see people empty huge sacks of wastes in the drainage whenever it rains. And when such people are accosted, the rain will take care of them is usually the response. In addition, commuters in both private and commercial vehicles have formed the habit of throwing papers and sundry wastes through the windows of moving vehicles; This garbage end up in gutters and other drainage channels after being blown away by breeze. Furthermore, despite the designation of the last Saturday of every month as the general environmental sanitation day in the State, some residents still defy this directive by not utilizing this period appropriately.

And to make matters worse, some cart pushers, illegal waste agent being patronized by some residents, dump the refuse they have been paid to dispose of in canals and large drainage channels. This act often results in blockage of free flow of waste water, resulting in flooding whenever it rains, irrespective of the magnitude. This is often rampant in markets and other commercial centers. If only the perpetrators of these acts are aware of the consequences of their action!

Often times, the effects of flooding on the affected residents are unquantifiable and devastating. The menace of flooding has rendered many people homeless, while not a few landlords have been stripped of their only investments. Invariably, this has contributed immensely to the upsurge in the level of social problems in the society. There is an increase in the army of the homeless, which has resulted in overcrowding in houses, all in attempts to play good neighbours and take these people in.

Also, it is not uncommon to see some senior citizens begging for alms to keep bodies and souls together, when their only investments have been destroyed by flooding. Infrastructures such as roads are not spared as a result of this menace of flooding. Many roads have been destroyed and the affected communities cut off from the rest of the state. This has affected economic, academic and social activities in these communities.

It is, therefore, important that both state and local government authorities continually enlighten the people about the enormity of the dangers posed by flooding and the need for them to stop every human induced action that results into flooding. The management of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), should equally step up on efforts to extend their services to the nooks and crannies of the state. This way, no one would have any reason to patronize cart pushers or engage in other environmentally unfriendly activities.

As we prepare for the rainy season, all hands must be on deck to ensure that all humanly induced actions that promote flooding are discontinued. Consequently,

NGOs, Community Development Associations, the media, members of the Civil Society and all well meaning individuals and groups in the state should endorse attitudinal change towards the environment.

In Nigeria, we don’t appreciate preparedness and prevention of disaster but wait for problem before taking action despite our weak infrastructural development. While it is possible to blame government for pathetic health facilities, pitiable educational condition and weak infrastructure, tackling natural occurrences such as climate change challenge and flooding is a collective responsibility. Tackling it must therefore, involve every segment of the society.

Adenike Ademola

Ademola, an environmental protection campaigner, wrote in from Lekki