RESIDENTS of Lagos were in for hard times Friday, no thanks to the heavy downpour in some parts of the state.
The heavy rain, which started around 1pm in Ikeja and other areas, lasted between an hour, but it left great economic, social and environmental impact.
For instance, in the Ikeja axis, the capital city of the state, most of the streets were submerged in flood, which was about four feet in places, something high enough to drown even a teenager.
This development not only grounded business for most of the day, it also compounded the already overwhelming traffic logjams in the axis.
A commuter, Miss Saliu Omowunmi Esther, said: “This is so embarrassing. At this time of civilization, this kind of flood is happening to a state in a country called Nigeria. The situation is so bad that the whole place has been covered in flood. We can’t walk nor cross the road.”
There was commotion on the road, as motorists and passersby, including secondary school students who are just returning from school, struggled to navigate their ways through the flooded streets.
For commuters, the only safe passage for them was along the median.
The flooding also forced motorists to slow into a crawl, and others had to deal with mechanical challenges as their vehicles stuttered to a halt after being submerged in the flood – a development that inevitably created more traffic gridlock on the road.
The situation was worsened by the peculiarity of a very loaded working day as Friday. Friday is a day filled with numerous activities, including official, social, tradition and economic ones.
Most respondents expressed anger over the situation, saying the issue of flood is ridiculous and unheard-of for a state which prided itself as a megacity.
They equally accused the state government of policy inequality by ‘concentrating developmental projects on the Island, leaving the mainland behind.’
Calling on the Lagos State Government to respond to the emergency, Saliu threatened that should it not intervene immediately, especially before the March 28 general elections, she would boycott the coming poll.
“I swear! Should the government not respond to this situation, especially before the coming election, I won’t go out to vote. And why should I vote in the first place, when the major developmental projects are been neglected, only to go and be lavishing our money on their electoral campaigns?” she asked, rhetorically.
In an earlier exclusive interview with our newspaper (yet to be published), the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Lateef Ibirogba, said the allegation of policy inequality in Lagos State is untrue.
