Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of the Environment, Engr. Ayodeji Adenekan, in this interview with Kazeem Ugbodaga speaks about efforts of the State Government to clear drainage channels in the state to combat flood
The Meteorological Agency recently released a warning that 11 states in Nigeria stand the risk of flooding and Lagos State is one of the states. What is your view on this?
In Lagos, we don’t really have to wait for the meteorological agency to release warning notice before we know that we have to be up and doing. Regularly, we plan ahead so that we will not have problem with flood in Lagos State and we have the plan to retain our primary channels and collectors and these we do regularly. Before the release of that warning, we had put in place measures to prevent flooding in Lagos State. So we are dredging our primary channels, that is the canals, and clearing collector drains. There are places we know are black spots which we have helped people permanently and regularly deflood and clear to make the drains flow. There is no problem, we are on top of it, we are always on our toes to make sure the drains flow and the flood moves out of people’s way.
The World Bank is not so happy with the execution of the Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Projects (LMDGP) in Lagos. Tell us your view on this
The LMDGP has not been concluded properly, but on our part we have taken over the drainage work, whichever is not completed, we will ensure we complete and we will make sure everything is flowing. Whether LMDGP or not, what we are after in Lagos State is to ensure that the drainage flows. What we are after is that the people of Lagos State do not experience flood. We are going to take over technically. We are already working on some of them and we will complete them and correct the ones that are not well executed.
What have been your challenges in trying to rid Lagos of flood?
The greatest challenge is dumping of refuse in the drains. If we don’t have refuse in the drains , the water will flow because we will only have silt in the drains. Flood is basically water and sand. As the flood moves, the sand stays, so silting is something that you normally have in any drainage. If it is only sand, it will not be as bad, but we now compound it with pure water sachets, nylon and so many other things. That is the greatest challenge we have.
What has been your partnership with the Ogun State Government to ensure that flood is abated in Lagos?
We have been partnering with them, that is why you have not had flood after the one that happened last time. We have agreed with them on the modalities of releasing water from the Oyan Dam. If you dam a river, the water keeps rising and it will get to a point that if you don’t release part of the water, the dam will break; so it is necessary for Ogun to release part of the water so that it will not destroy the dam. We have related with them well, we have agreed on how they will release the water gradually so that it will not lead to flood and the collaboration is ongoing. They are cooperating with us. What we normally have in Lagos is flash flood that goes off after some times. When the rain is very heavy and it stays for long, the water will be much. Immediately the rain stops, the water starts reducing. The rate at which the flood goes is what we are trying to attack because the bigger the drainage, the quicker the rate at which the flood goes. We are constantly trying to desilt the drains so that we can have smooth flow but as we are doing this, some people are dumping refuse.
The canals in places like Ojo and Badagry have not been dredged for a long time and people dump refuse in them. What are you doing to bring the local government officials to help in monitoring the channels properly?
We have worked on some canals in Badagry, but we cannot visit all the councils at the same time. We try to look at the most critical ones, dredge them and make them flow very well. We are also collaborating with council officials. Recently we met with the medical officers and engineers of local councils and discussed how to make them more effective in helping to monitor the drainages.
Why is it that Lagos does not have all the drains covered?
Open drains have their advantages and closed drains have theirs too. In doing drainages, we try to do both. It is difficult for us to clean closed drains. We have to get machines to lift the cover. We try to see which is more appropriate for each area. The places where we need to cover, we cover and the ones we don’t need not to cover, we leave them.
Have communication companies been cooperating with government in removing their cables from the drainages in different parts of the state?
Mostly in Victoria Island and Apapa, we have telephone and electricity cables inside the drains. Most of the time, we have discussed with communication providers. Most times we write them to remove their cables because collector drains are not meant for cables. When they refuse, we remove them ourselves. Even water mains are relocated by ourselves. The major ones we find difficult to remove are electricity cables. We try as much as possible to remove these cables because they hinder the flow of water. In Lekki axis, we have done a lot. In 2007, we awarded contract to clear 11 collector drains and yearly, we open up canals in the area. We have even gone to Epe where we are dredging about three channels. The problem in Lekki is illegal sand-filling which creates flooding.