By Austin Ogwuda
…. don’t politicise it, such occurrences happen also in advanced countries
Whilst many residents in Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria are counting their losses following the massive flooding that swept away vehicles and other property on Wednesday the Delta State government said that it had put in place adequate infrastructure to check such massive flooding but was compromised due to people nonchalant attitude to sanitation.
The State Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu was quick to address a press conference regarding Wednesday’s torrential rain and flood erosion along Old Lagos – Agbor Road, Boji-Boji Agbor in Ika South Local Government Area of the State state, calling for a collective positive action against natural disasters.
Hear him, “Yesterday, most of you saw and witnessed the very heavy downpour across the state and then the havoc it wreaked on some properties, particularly vehicles and motorcycles in the Ika axis.
“I am sure it happened in other places, but it wasn’t that devastating, and we needed to address it for individuals to know what is expected of them even as the government has continued to take actions to mitigate such occurrences.
“We are also happy that in Asaba, the rain was also quite heavy, but we did not see that level of disturbance. We have, before now, as a government, been able to pay good attention to flood control measures.
“I am happy that all of you are very much aware that for the majority of the roads we have constructed, we ensure that we have dual drains.
“In some instances, we have proceeded to build storm drainages. You are also very privy to the fact that this administration has also continued along that trajectory.
“Not long ago, you accompanied the governor to inspect the storm drainage across the Ogbeogonogo market, which is one of the eight phases of the outcome of a study that was carried out by the previous administration.
“Some of you also accompanied us to the area behind the Asaba Specialist Hospital, where you also saw a huge drainage and another storm drainage.
“You are aware of the effort to complete the storm drainage in the Owa-Alero axis and the storm drainage we are building in the Osubi, Okuokoko, Ugolo-Okpe, and the Warri axis in addition to the many side drains that we are building along the roads that we are constructing.
“But what we have seen over time as a challenge which we have continued to also emphasize the need for people to become much more responsive and responsible in preventing flood”.
Continuing the Commissioner said, “I sympathize with some of our brothers and sisters whose motorcycles or vehicles were either destroyed or taken away by the flood.
“We have giant drains on both sides of that road to accommodate flood water whenever it rains quite heavily.
“Sometimes these things happen. I am sure in April last year, all of you could recall what happened in Dubai. Of course, you cannot see it was because they were not developed or they have not taken pain to control floods.
“You also remember sometime around October last year and November in Spain when a splash flood even took away cars and swept away buildings.
“I am mentioning very advanced societies so that those who may want to now begin to take political advantage rather than joining us to seek ways of addressing these issues so that you don’t allow them to paint pictures that are at variance with reality.
“For quite a long time now as an administration, we have emphasized the need for our people to be very environmentally conscious.
“Today, you see several persons when they come out from their homes heap refuse inside these drains, hoping that the flood water would help to convey such debris to a natural water course.
“By the time you do that, you have also undermined the current capacity of that water channel to the estuaries and tributaries that feed into these storm drainages.
“These tributaries that come from different shorter streets, smaller roads, have also been seriously undermined by human factors, even when the government has spent billions of Naira building and constructing these drains.
“If you move out, you will see across different places how individuals are undermining the carrying capacity of the drains that were built by heaping refuse in these drainages.
“When they do so, like it’s often said, water must find its level. The moment you have undermined the capacity of a particular drain, it means that that water, in an attempt to find its level, will now take through certain courses, other than the ones that have been provided to channel the water.
“That is part of what happened in Agbor yesterday. The rainfall was indeed quite intense, and such things could happen once in a while, thereby possibly outsmarting the capacity of the available drains.
“But those drains are big enough, over the years they have been able to accommodate water flow, but because a number of the tributaries that feed into these bigger drains have been seriously undermined by the activities of our people.
“Hence you now see the water that would have flown through these smaller drains, that have been channeled to empty into these bigger drains, finding its way to the road itself”, he added.
