The residents said the flooding has made their communities death traps. Residents of Ilo-Awela Canal, Ajegunle-Toll Gate Sango that borders Lagos and Ogun States, have cried out over the perennial flooding that had led to deaths and destruction of buildings in their area.
According to affected members of the communities, the spot is the boundary between Lagos and Ogun States and because of that, it seems they have been abandoned by both governments.
Amongst those who spoke on the flooding situation is the Chairman of the Ilo- Awela Ajegunle Market at the Toll Gate side of the canal, Taofeek Opara. He said whenever the rainy season approaches, landlords, residents, and traders along the canal route would start to fear for their safety.
Opara also noted that a butcher, Olatunji Omiyale, lost his son to the flood in 2022.
His words: “This area of ours (Ilo-Awela, Ajegunle, Toll Gate) has become a kind of death trap for people living around here and doing business.
“In 2022, one Matthew Omiyale, an apprentice butcher was swept away by flood in September. His father Olatunji is also a butcher in this market.
“When it rains here, schoolchildren don’t even go to their schools because of the danger of being drowned. We have written letters to both the Ogun and Lagos State Governments on the matter.”
Omiyale, whose son, Matthew, drowned in the 2022 flood, urged the two state governments to come to the aid of the communities.
Addressing the concerns of the residents, Ogun Commissioner for Information, Waheed Odusile said Governor Dapo Abiodun of the state, was committed to making infrastructures that will make their lives easy.
