The legal definition of “Act of God” is an event that directly and exclusively results from the occurrence of natural causes that could not have been prevented by the exercise of foresight or caution. In short, it is an inevitable incident like a tsunami, cyclones, tornados, bush fires, earthquakes etc. This is the reason why such occurrences are not covered under insurance claims, purely because they could not have been predicted or prevented. They are natural disasters
On Saturday 23 May 2015 at approximately 6.30am there was a rain storm in the Lekki area after a number of days of intense heat. A tornado started in the Atlantic Ocean off the Alpha beach are of Lekki(A tornado is a violent rotating fast moving column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground) It started gathering speed as it moved inland towards the Agungi Chevron area, like a turbo train that had lost control of its brakes, it destroyed everything in its path over its three mile journey. On an estate by the lagoon roofs were lifted off, car ports were torn down, generators were blown away or relocated, trees torn down. It was like a scene from a destruction movie. The tornado selected its path and left everything else untouched. Residents on some streets in the estate were not even aware of what was happening until they heard from their affected neighbours. The tornado was swift, it moved through the estate and disappeared into the lagoon as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving shock and disbelief on the faces of those who had witnessed it. It is not a common phenomenon in this part of the country, at least not to this extent. Unfortunately it may be something we will now see more of, due to our extreme weather as well as environmental damage that we seem not to be taking any notice of. The amount of Carbon monoxide going into the air from our reliance on generators for home and business is unacceptable in any other country. We dig boreholes indiscriminately because there is no pipe borne water, without thinking of the impact these boreholes cause on the ground and water levels, these things cause climate changes and can cause natural disasters like earthquakes and sea level anomalies. We need to be more aware of the pollutants we put into the environment and the impact that they will have long term. We must also be aware that Estates or tenants are NOT responsible for repairs, the landlord is solely responsible and must be aware that he cannot claim insurance for these natural disasters. The Lagos State Government claims to have put in place measures to reduce environmental disasters ie tree planting and ocean walls around the city.
Fortunately for the estate, the Developer himself was on ground the whole day to provide temporary cover for roofs that were blown off, secure and repair power lines, clear trees on the roads and restore power the same day. This same Developer has won a Government award for outstanding Facility Management on his estates. I can personally attest to this, as I live on one of these estates which is not only very well managed, but has 24hrs power which has not been affected by this fuel scarcity, like many other estates.
The traffic nowadays is beyond terrible mainly due to the fuel scarcity that is affecting all sectors of the economy. Getting to and from appointments has become a challenge, even if you set off hours before. A few days ago I left Ajah at 10am for a Victoria Island appointment at 12noon, I got to VI at 2pm. The traffic and fuel queues were like Armageddon. It was crazy! Luckily my client was aware of the traffic and had postponed the appointment for us. Moving around with a car is now a challenge as there is no fuel and even if you get it on the black market, it can go for as much as N300-N500ltr instead of N87. I stayed back in the office late to get some work done, thinking that if I hit the expressway at 10pm, the traffic would have gone down. I was in solid traffic from 10pm to midnight. It is becoming necessary for one to check their blood pressure and have their health checks regularly because of the constant unnecessary stresses we go through daily.
It is amazing how everything was put on hold until the new Government was inaugurated. It was as if the country shut down until the 30th April. I was almost expecting to wake up and find that there was 24hours power, clean running water, no traffic, clean streets, newly painted houses for all, no bad roads, no LASTMA, Naira is equal to $ and no more poverty. Seriously though, we are all expecting miracles from the new President, but we all have a role to play in getting the country where we want it. In the Real Estate sector, more properties need to be built and made more affordable, land transactions need to be more transparent and faster. Legal processes need to be properly implemented and monitored. May God be with us all.
Caroline A. Akinlotan
