Floodwaters have swept away a pupil after two days of continued heavy downpour in many parts of Lagos State left many communities submerged.
The rain, which started on Tuesday, continued pouring till Wednesday, inundating the nooks and crannies of the state, impeding movement and leaving many residents stranded as they could not go out for work or business.
This newspaper gathered that a primary six pupil simply identified as Joshua was swirled away by the flood in Ikosi, Ketu area of Lagos State.
Many districts in the commercial city of Lagos were still counting their losses as properties worth millions were damaged by the floodwaters.
Many residents who left their various houses early for work were also trapped in their vehicles while others could not leave their homes due to the heavy downpour that left major streets in Egbeda, Agege, Igando, Ikotun, Alaba International, Ajegunle and Amukoko submerged.
Other areas that affected include Lekki, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Obalende, Ayobo; Ipaja; Ejigbo; Abule-Egba and Ogba areas of Lagos.
The headquarters of Area G police command in Ogba was also flooded, while Ladipo bus-stop, on the Agege road was also rendered impassable.
The warders’ barracks belonging to the Nigerian Correctional Centre in Kirikiri was also affected as the residential areas remained totally submerged.
Motorists and commuters were also left stranded due to the flooding in Sango area of Ogun State.
As the floods continue to sweep through streets and houses, residents have called on the government for help.
Jimoh Kamoru at Egbeda said the area had been prone to flood and efforts by successive governments to improve the drainage system had not worked.
Specifically, he blamed the state government for awarding contracts for drainage construction and evacuation of refuse in drainages to incompetent contractors.
“Some days back, heaps of refuse were removed from blocked drains and left by the side of the road. Now that the rains have come, it has flushed them back into the same drainage,” he said.
The pupil who was swept away was said to be returning home from school alongside his colleagues when the tragic incident occurred on Taiwo Street in Ikosi, Ketu, Lagos.
Reacting to the tragedy, Joshua’s mother, a fruit seller who wept uncontrollably, lamented the loss of her only child.
“Joshua died hungry and cold. He was in primary six and was supposed to write his common entrance exam,” she said.
The distraught mother revealed that she had lost her home in a fire incident and was living in a temporary shelter.
Similarly, not less than seven persons were rescued from the rubble of a two-storey building that collapsed on Wednesday morning in the Mushin area of Lagos.
The building was said to have collapsed with a thud around 8am while it was raining
The permanent secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, said the building caved under the heavy downpour of Wednesday.
Oke-Osanyintolu said the affected house was located along the Ewenla area of Mushin during the inclement weather.
He, however, said all emergency services, including the LASEMA, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), the police, state fire service officials and medics from the Lagos State Emergency Ambulance Service (LASEMBUS) were part of the rescue operations.
In the Alaba International Market, Ojo, goods worth millions of naira were destroyed by flood, which flowed into shops and warehouses where goods are kept.
One of the canals in the area overflowed its bank, running into shops and residents.
Some of those who reside at Imude and Ijangbadi have since relocated from their flooded houses, while those who stayed back did so with the hope that the flood would soon recede. (Daily Trust)
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