Residents of Ajegunle, near Ikorodu, Lagos, displaced by floods more than a month ago, still move around in canoes, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
A NAN correspondent, who visited the communities on Tuesday, reported that the residents had also built wooden bridges across the water-logged areas to ease movement.
A furniture maker, Mr. Tajudeen Adekola, told NAN that although the floods had receded, he had to put his furniture on a wooden platform to prevent them from being damaged.
“I still have to protect my furniture from the remaining floods to prevent them from being damaged,” he said.
Residents of Ajegunle, Odo Ogun, Thomas, Owode Onirin, Owode Elede, Itowolu and Irawo communities were sacked by floods following the opening of Oyan Dam in Ogun.
Many of the affected residents were relocated and resettled at a relief camp in Agbowa by the Lagos State government.
But PUNCH METRO correspondent, who visited some of the communities, reported that some residents had returned to their homes despite warnings.
Some of the residents of Ajegunle said they returned to their homes when the executive members of their Community Development Associations advised them to do so after the floods had reduced, while some said they returned in order to attend to their businesses.
One of the returnees, Mr. Sunday Eze, told our correspondent in a telephone interview that he only returned home tentatively to attend to his business.
Eze, who resides at 34, Lion Street, Ajegunle, said he would return to the camp as soon as he put his business back on track.
He said, “The Ajegunle CDA officials came and said that government ordered that if the water had gone down, we should go back to Ajegunle. That is why many of us started to go. But the camp authorities advised us not to go back to the community.
“They said we should not listen to our CDA officials. I left the camp and I will go back any time I like because there is still flood in my area. I left the camp because I am a trader and I need to attend to my business. I sell rice at Ikorodu Market.”
Another flood victim at the camp, Alhaji Muritala Daramola, said, “Some people have left the camp and we do not know when they are coming back. Some of them thought that the floods had dried up and their houses are now safe.
“Also, some say they have some businesses or work to attend to. Some of them said they would come back. But I am still at the camp.”
When asked whether some of the victims left because they were not satisfied with the condition in the camp, Daramola said, “It is not because of any bad treatment. The camp authorities have really improved on their treatment and the food they serve us.”
However, the National Emergency Management Agency, a town planning expert, Lagos and Ogun state governments have warned the flood victims not to return to their areas now.
Senior Special Assistant to Lagos State Governor on Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Michael Akindele, in a telephone interview with PUNCH METRO, warned that those who returned to the areas might contract water-borne diseases and risk their lives.
He said, “Initially, when the flood subsided, some of them said because of the state of their work, they would go and stay somewhere, any time they have more money, they will return to their communities. Between last Tuesday and Thursday, the water level increased again and some of them who left the camp had come back. We accepted them back because they were already registered.
“We have been advising them that their health is paramount. We also told them that swampy and water-logged area is injurious to their health. We have told them not to go back but the choice is theirs.”
Also, the Assistant Zonal Coordinator (South-West), NEMA, Mr. Adebiyi Babatunde, has warned the flood victims to steer clear of the areas to avoid another disaster.
“It is sad to note that people are back at the affected areas. Those areas remain a disaster zone as any heavy rainfall will have a devastating effect. We are warning them to leave the areas,” he said.
The immediate past President, Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, Mr. Moses Ogunleye, also said it was suicidal for the victims to return to their homes, appealing to the government to relocate them to a permanent site.
He also urged the government to stop any building projects or other forms of development in the area to avoid a recurrence of loss of human lives and property in the event of another flooding.
He said the flooding was aggravated by people, who built on waterways, adding that the areas were flood zones and houses should not be built in such areas.
Ogunleye said, “Going back to those communities is like planning to commit suicide. I think government should ensure that they leave the areas. They should be compulsorily evicted from there. They are going back probably because where they are currently relocated is a temporary site. There should be a permanent site so that they will have no reason to go back to those areas.
“If those who are living or transacting business there have government’s permit or building approvals, it means that the government has recognised their residency and believes that they should be there. If that is the case, then government should resettle them.”
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2010112414464856
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