The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has warned that the challenges posed by the rising sea level in Nigeria will get worse if ecological resources are not preserved.
The warning came as last Saturday’s downpour and its attendant flooding once again brought Lagos to its knees for several hours.
Ede Dafinone, chairperson, national executive council of the NCF, during a recent panel discussion at the 20th Chief S.L Edu Memorial Lecture with the theme, “only one earth”, in Lagos, said there was a need to take urgent mitigating steps.
Every year, the Lagos State government assures residents of its preparedness to contain whatever challenges the seasonal flooding in the city would pose, yet whenever nature comes in its fury, the state is caught off-guard.
“We are working very hard; as the special adviser to the governor on drainage and water resource, I can assure you that we have been dealing with the canals; we have been dealing with the tertiary drains, primary drains and secondary drains,” Joe Igbokwe had assured.
But last Saturday, economic activities were paralysed in the city as what was clearly a torrential downpour started in the early hours of the day and continued till late evening, causing massive flooding in many parts of the sprawling city.
The flooding event left many homes and roads flooded, making movement difficult and impossible in some locations. The rain brought untold hardship to many families. In the Orile Agege and Pen Cinema areas of the state, it was reported that a Toyota Camry car with three passengers were swept aside by the flood that submerged homes and sacked the occupants.
The state and its managers were humbled enough for Igbokwe to make an open apology to Lagosians through a written open apology.
According to him, the flood was as a result of the state being a coastal city. “We acknowledge the damage done by the flood in Lagos and the losses. We apologise most sincerely for the pains and tears. We share the pains with those affected. Lagos is a coastal city that is prone to flooding. Everybody knows this. Lagos has the smallest land mass in Nigeria with 23 million Nigerians,” he said.
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Igbokwe did not however end his apology without giving it back to the residents who he accused of building houses on land that was meant to contain floods.
He reminded residents that Lagos has low-lying areas where people were not supposed to build houses but Lagosians go there to build. He recalled too that the state has wetlands which serve as reservoirs to retain excess floods but Lagosians will defy the law and go there to build houses.
“To make matters worse, some Lagosians dump refuse inside our drains or canals. Some build houses on our canal setbacks making it difficult, if not impossible, for us to clear the drains. We need to change our habits to help us have flood-free Lagos. Lagos spends a huge amount of money every year cleaning canals and aligning many of them with concretes,” Igbokwe disclosed.
Though he believed that people’s bad habits contributed to flooding, he also recognised that it was a global issue that has a direct bearing on climate change.
Dafinone agreed with Igbokwe on the climate change connection, noting that the rise was not stopping.
“It is going to get worse. About 40 years ago, around the time when NCF was formed, there were voices saying the environmental problems were going to get worse. But at the time these people were seen as soothsayers of doom. But today, we see the statistics proving them right, beyond any doubt, that things are getting worse and they will continue unless something is done to stop it.”
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