July 04, (THEWILL) – For residents of Ishola Salisu, a street in Motolola Community Development Area, Alimosho Local Government Area, life has assumed a horrid dimension, no thanks to the constant flooding of the area during the rainy season and the resulting loss of valuable property.
Perhaps, the phrase, ‘suffering and not smiling’ best describes the predicament of these people who are constantly endangered by floodwater pouring into one of the streets from the drainage servicing about 46 others in the CDA.
The mental torture and losses arising from the development is best imagined than experienced.
THE WILL investigation shows that the residents of Ishola Salisu have been in this life-threatening situation for a long time. According to eye witness accounts, it is so bad that some landlords have sold off their houses and are now living as tenants in the same community.
Many residents have stopped short of leaving the community for want of better accommodation elsewhere. Others have surrendered to fate and hopes for help from the government someday.
Speaking with THEWILL, a resident known as Alfa recounted how his home was flooded, even up to window level, one wet morning and his belongings destroyed in the process.
For another resident and his family, life in Ishola Salisu has been an endless tale of discomfort from the first day. According to him, even it rains lightly the whole place is covered with water. The fence around his residence, which was meant to hold back the water, had been brought down for a minimum of six times. Now the man’s wife insists on leaving the village for a safer environment as it appears there might not be a solution to the problem any time soon.
A female resident also told THEWILL that she almost lost her life to flood on one occasion. Narrating her experience, she said that on the particular day there was a downpour. She had stepped out of her home to draw some water from a deep gutter that was already overflowing with floodwater. But she missed a step and fell into the gutter. According to her, she swallowed some of the dirty floodwater and sustained both external and internal injuries that took several weeks to heal.
“Whenever it is about to rain and I am outside my home, I run all the way to my compound. It does not matter where I am and what I’m doing at that moment, I would hurry home to pack in my things else they would all be destroyed by the flood.”
Over time, the constant flooding of Ishola Salisu has had severe ad life-threatening consequences for many of its residents. Most of the time, it was gathered, the dirty floodwater hardly recedes until after five days or more. During that period, it poses a serious health challenge to the residents who are often exposed to water-borne diseases and other ailments.
A businesswoman and mother of four children, who lives in the neighbourhood, also told THEWILL that at such times whole families are trapped in their homes for several days at a stretch. Nobody leaves the house or enters till the flood has receded.
Confirming the accounts of the troubled residents, the chair of the local landlords’ association, Mr Favour Wilifred, in an interview with THEWILL, said the situation has become a constant nightmare to the people. According to him, the situation was different when he moved into the community about 11 years ago.
Judging by the topography of the area, it is expected that the residents might have occasionally suffered some inconvenience whenever it rained in the past, but not to this extent. The flooding became unexpectedly severe around 2006 and led to the loss of lives and valuable property in 2010.
Wilfred said the community wrote to the Ministry of Environment, Works and Erosion Control when the roads started collapsing and erosion-related problems began to set in.
He also confirmed that many residents were forced to abandon their landed properties as a result of the flooding, while others are still living in the community for want of better alternatives. The floods have on some occasions carried away adults and schoolchildren alike, some of which were rescued, to the best of his knowledge.
Wilfred also said that letters were written to the CDA who has in turn written to the appropriate ministries that should see to the situation. At one time, he claimed, a commissioner visited the street to see things for himself.
Following the series of letters that were written, the residents were given the assurance that government would remedy the situation on Ishola Salisu Street as soon as the rehabilitation of Isuti Road commenced.
Unfortunately nothing has been done since the commencement of the Isuti Road project, which is almost completed now.
Commending the CDA chairman for his support and for reaching out to the appropriate authorities, a gesture that has resulted in the survey of the environment in preparation for a meaningful intervention, Wilifred stated that the Isuti project, which was highly appreciated by the people, has ironically worsened the situation by a hundred times.
According to him, even with a slight shower, people from different streets come to dump their refuse in the gutter that is directed towards Ishola Salisu. “Sometimes dead animals and babies dumped in the gutter get stuck in front of people’s houses,” he lamented.
More so, the Chairman of Motolola CDA, Igando-Ikotun Local Council Development Area, under which Ishola Salisu is placed, Alhaji Babatunde Kehinde, said he was aware of the consistent flooding of Ishola Salisu and that it had been existing long before the inauguration of the current CDA Excos in August 2020. According to him, the community has in the last couple of years contributed the sum of N700,000 yearly for waterway extension, as well as for widening the drainages, which always got clogged up with the refuse that the residents often dumped during the rainy season.
Also, he mentioned that over the years, the flood had created great ditches that keeps spreading and tearing into people’s compounds. He also warned that if not attended to on time, the ditches could cause the collapse of houses in the area.
Alhaji Kehinde also confirmed that nothing has been done by either the local or state governments, except for a few visits and inspections by some government officials.
He said the community has no other option than to appeal to the Lagos State Government to open canals or water flows that can empty the floods. He recommended a strong concrete channelisation from Isuti Road to Ishola Salisu Street and the refilling of the eroded portions of the street surface as actions necessary for the protection of the lives and properties of the residents.
About the Author
