Lagos is the most populous city in the state of Lagos and in Nigeria, with approximately 16 to 21 million people. living in the metropolitan area. The city is a port city situated on islands separated by creeks and canals that drain water from the Lagos Lagoon into the Atlantic Ocean.
At least eight people have lost their lives and many more are missing. Houses have been destroyed or washed away as the waters continue to weaken the sand and soil they were built on, and those homes most affected are the ones built along the creeks and canals in the area.
Speaking at the Water Technology and Environmental Control (WATEC) sensitization program in Lagos on Monday, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode said the government planned to take steps to find an immediate “holistic” solution to the flooding problem in the state, according to the Vanguard.
Nigeria’s commercial nerve center, located in the Lagos metropolitan area has been hit hard, as well as the Lekki-Victoria Island axis, while severe flooding took over the entire Ahmadu Bello Way in Victoria Island, forcing an evacuation of the area.
Ambode said the flooding has forced the government to review and possibly embark on a re-engineering of the canals and drainage systems in the state, saying “this must be pursued hand in hand with a clear and crystal re-envisioning of the water management system.”
However, the immediate needs of the residents in the submerged city were not the main topic of the Governor’s lengthy address. He pointed out that Lagos was not alone in facing flood threats, and that the state has decided to partner with Israel in developing water technology and environmental control.
Ambode’s comments were not in line with those of former Surveyor-General of the Federation Prof. Peter Nwilo. He gave an interview with reporters in Lagos on Monday, saying he has urged the state government to stop all construction and all sand filling works around Lagos Lagoon and the waterfronts.
Nwilo said this is the very first time that the water level in the Lagos Lagoon has risen like it has this week. He cited the sand-filling being done around the lagoon and waterfronts, all for land development. Additionally, he said, “This is being done without proper Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the consequences of such development on the environment.
Professor Sylvester Egwu, an environmentalist, also speaking along with Nwilo, said, “Besides being a climate change situation, all the drainage systems in the area are blocked, the majority of them by illegal structures.” Both men cited the garbage, refuse, that has built up in the blocked canals and waterways.
