Residents of highbrow estates in Isheri and OPIC estates, off the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, have in the last few days battled heavy flooding resulting from the water release from the Oyan Dam, with some residents constrained to remain indoors, some abandoned their homes outright while some others devoted days to pumping water out of their expensive houses, and some even relied on canoe to move around. JANET OGUNDEPO, who visited the community, writes
Beautiful and modern houses lined up the streets of the Isheri North Government Residential Area Estate, located at OPIC on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. But the sight of large volumes of water which a car owner, no matter how daring, could not drive through overtook the roads, drainages and house entrances. The flood emerged after the water release by the Oyan Dam in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Stuck in their apartments, boarding canoes or wading through the knee-height water for average heights individuals have been the main options open to many residents.
The sights of children struggling to have a place on the boat, among adults in a hurry to go to their workplace, became common in the neighbourhood since the flood began. During the off-peak periods, motorcycle riders who could wade through the water ferried willing passengers who agreed to pay the hiked fee. For others, they had to pull up their trousers, dresses or gowns, transfer their footwear into their hands, and carefully wade through the water.
The same scenario plays out during the evening peak periods.
While our correspondent visited the Estate on Wednesday, the volume of the water was way above the knee length, soaking everything it came in contact with.
Stuck in the house
A septuagenarian and resident of Isheri North GRA, Akintola Omigbodun, stated that he had been stuck in his house since October 19, when the flood began.
Omigbodun stated that he noticed the “upward movement of water in the drainage channels” on Monday, October 16, but by “Wednesday, some of the roads leading to my house were covered with water.”
Taking a cue from the 2019 flood in the area, he said the road in front of his house and his compound had been raised to minimise the impact, adding that this prevented his house from being flooded. However, since the other roads leading out of the estate were, he said he was constrained to remain in his house.
The retiree stated that the situation had prevented him from picking up his new pair of glasses and buying groceries.
He continued, “I’m essentially retired from work. Road levels vary in the estate and if I have to go out of the estate, like I did today (Wednesday), I have to use a truck that is high above the water-logged roads. For today, the truck was provided and driven by a friend. So, things like obtaining bread from Charley Boy, Gbagada, and my new pair of glasses from Ikoyi have been postponed until the water level has dropped sufficiently.”
Omigbodun stated that he had not recorded any loss because he had raised the floor of his premises by one metre, above the watermark of the 2007 and subsequent floods.
Omigbodun, who is an engineer and member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, said, “From studies carried out, starting in 2012, I have been aware that there is a four-year cycle for peak rainfall in the catchment area of the River Ogun system and therefore associated peak flood events in 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and now 2023, in the area where I live near the River Ogun.
“I’m not surprised at this year’s flood and I would be able to move freely away from and back to my house once the flood waters are lowered and a saloon car can take me away and back to my house. Of course, there have been significant floods in other years such as 2010 and 2022.”
He however blamed the annual flooding on what he termed the mismanagement in the water release from the Oyan Dam.
Flood with a known history
The flood, according to the residents, was noticed penultimate Tuesday but the roads were still passable.
As the days went by, the volume of water increased and invaded the houses of many residents. Some of the residents had to leave their houses and found shelter in neighbouring houses that suffered less impact, while those with a storey building, remained upstairs, while watching the flood invade their homes and destroy valuables.
The flood, findings revealed, ravaged the community whenever the dam is opened by the management of the dam, an action the management says is necessary to preserve the integrity of the dam.
The areas affected by the flood include OPIC, Isheri North Estate under the Kosofe Local Government of Lagos State, Warewa, Banku, some parts of Arepo and Forthright Estates in the Ifo Local Government of Ogun State and some parts of Ikorodu.
For example, roads leading to some companies like Mikano and Hogan Guards, beside the Long Bridge on the expressway were flooded.
Our correspondent saw some workers in rain boots wading through the water to their destination.
According to the water release schedule for October 22 and 23, the water level in the dam was 61.60m and 61.57m above the main sea level, respectively.
During these days, the dam management noted that Gates 2 and 4 of the dam were opened and released 25,574.40ML of water.
Three casualties, 48 resettled families
According to the Chairman of the Isheri Estate Community, Mr Gbenga Osobu, three persons have died since the flood began.
Further describing the situation as “close to war”, he noted that 48 families had been resettled within the estate.
Osobu added, “A young man was trying to rescue his motorcycle and he was missing for some time until he was found dead on Saturday. A woman, who was trying to pick a floating plastic, fell in the process and was taken to the hospital but she later died.”
Our correspondent further learnt that the third casualty was an old woman who slipped while trying to pick something in the water. Help couldn’t get to the woman on time and she breathed her last in front of her children.
The ISECOM chairman also said, “The worth of properties here are in billions of naira. Businesses have been killed here; no commercial activities like before in the last 13 days, we look like a ghost town deserted by people.”
The 40-year-old Oyan Dam
Dams and reservoirs are constructed for several reasons. The Oyan Dam, operated by the Ogun Oshun River Basin Development Authority, was established and commissioned by the then President Shehu Shagari, on March 29, 1983.
Findings revealed that the dam was established to generate nine megawatts of electricity, provide irrigation farms as a way of transitioning from a rain-fed agricultural system, and supply potable water to Ogun and neighbouring Lagos State.
But after 40 years, findings revealed that not a kilowatt of hydropower has been generated by the dam.
Saturday PUNCH had earlier reported that the three turbines of 3MW each were installed to provide 9MW electricity but only one turbine of 3MW was completely installed, while the rest were done halfway. However, till date, the dam has yet to serve that purpose as the turbines and other components continue to rot away.
Some of the residents affected by the flood lamented that the water that should have been used to power the turbines to generate electricity were being released to preserve the dam, while some others said fishing was instead being done at the dam.
Findings further revealed that in 1993, the manufacturer of the turbine, a German company, Garbe-Lahmeyer in Aachen, became defunct, further dashing the hope of reviving the obsolete equipment.
Findings from a 2017 study on “The socio-economic dynamics of dam on rural communities: A Case Study of Oyan Dam, Nigeria”, conducted by Amidu Ayeni and Lawrence Ojifo, showed that water supply for commercial purposes varied significantly between 2010 and 2016.
It further reported that the irrigation scheme was grossly under-utilised since the inception of the dam in 1983 till 2016 when the study was done.
The researchers concluded that the majority of residents in the selected communities for the study did not benefit “from the dam and their livelihoods are not from the dam.”
Annual flooding of downstream communities seems to have become the recurring outcome of the water release.
A 2020 study on ‘Bathymetry and Siltation of Oyan Dam, Ogun State, Nigeria’, by A. Adejare recommended the deepening and training of the Ogun River and all adjoining drainage systems within the areas to retain more water when peak rainfall is recorded.
In 2021, the then Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, said the Federal Government through his ministry, state, local governments, corporate organisations and individuals had for several years constructed dams.
Adamu noted that the country had 408 dams with 142 large dams, 59 medium dams and 207 small dams.
Harvest of traumatic experiences
A resident and Chairman of Riverview Estate, Mr Abayomi Akinde, described the situation as traumatic, adding that his case was child’s play compared to the experiences of other residents.
Sadly, he said the flood prevented him from attending the convocation of his last child last Saturday.
He stated, “This was his first degree, but unfortunately, I couldn’t be with him. This is very painful for me and I don’t know how to compensate him for it but the good thing is that he (the son) appeared to show some understanding of the situation. It was my wife that went but it was very traumatic for her,” he said.
However, for families who had young children who had to go to school, the situation had been hellish.
He also stated that families, whose houses had been flooded and could not afford hotel costs, had to remain in their water-logged houses.
To ensure that people who had to move out were still able to, Akinde stated, “We bought two boats for ourselves in this community but only one is working now and there is tremendous pressure on that one.”
The chairman, narrating the story of a resident, stated that the water gained entrance into the house through the windows, soaking the sofa in the living room and flooding the ground floor.
“He had to abandon everything in the living room because his staircase is too narrow to accommodate the sofas,” he added.
Continuing, Akinde stated that scooping water out of his sitting room had become a twice-a-day chore since the flood began.
He explained, “Normally, water doesn’t get into my house but because the living room is low, water seeped through the ground into it. My living room is filled with water but every other place is dry. The water had been scooped in the morning, but now (in the afternoon) it is almost half of the level it got to earlier.
“It has been a traumatic and difficult experience for every one of us.”
Having to wear rain boots to wade through the water within and outside the house had become a must. But despite the rain boots, our correspondent discovered that the water in some areas of the estate was dangerous to manoeuvre on foot.
Thankfully, Akinde said he had not lost any property to the flood because he was around when the flood started.
Recurring issue with possible solutions
Akinde, in a previous interview with Saturday PUNCH, had blamed the yearly flooding on the negligence of the managers of Oyan Dam in releasing water inappropriately.
He further noted that an earlier agreement that water should be released from the dam between July and November was not adhered to, and that rather the water was released between August and October.
Akinde had in the interview stated that the 2019 flood was among the worst recorded, but this year’s flood seemed to have exceeded that record.
He stated that in 2019, he was away when the flood started but returned to a flooded home and water-soaked documents and certificates.
On his part, Omigbodun said data presented at a Stakeholders Summit held by the Lagos State Government on May 15 and 16, 2017, on the negative impacts of the flood on adjoining towns and villages in Lagos State, showed that in the 90s, except August 1993, water was released from the dam between December and July without releases in August to November.
He said during those periods, there was no flooding, adding that “the dam operator, in this case, OORBDA, owes a duty of care to the communities downstream of the dam by ensuring that these communities are not in a worse situation with floods compared to when there was no dam.”
The engineer stated that every year, the surface water level should be 49m above sea level at the end of August with water releases of 18 million and 16.5 million cubic metres in September and October, respectively.
Flooding despite precautions
Osobu stated that despite the yearly flooding and mitigation measures in place, this year’s flooding situation was massive and overwhelmed the protective measures put in place. He said warning alerts, clearing of 2.5km of drainages on both sides and crating the waste were all done before the flood came but that those were not enough to limit the tragedy.
But “for reasons best known to the Oyan Dam management on excuses of climate change and the need to accommodate other interests, the dam gates were thrown open,” he stated.
Since the flood began, 48 families in the estate had been dislocated, Osobu said, “and some who could not leave their homes had to remain in the house, pumping water out of their places.”
He said initially vehicles could drive between one place and the other, especially the main and connecting roads to the estates, but as the water volume increased, canoes were used to transport residents to their homes, while some cautiously drove through the water.
“We connected residents in need of shelter to those who have extra flats and rooms. We have resettled 48 families as of yesterday (Tuesday) and some others who could not afford the hotel bills remained home. Some went as far as even giving them food and providing food and water for them pending when the water will recede,” the ISECOM chair added.
He further noted that the water had been receding since Tuesday, expressing hope that if the tempo was maintained, families would gradually return to their homes by the weekend.
When asked about the estimated amount of properties lost to the flood, Osobu said that would be known when the displaced residents returned to their homes.
Citing several affected homes, the chairman said, “I will give you an instance of someone who just spent about N3.5m to build a kitchen, that kitchen had been destroyed. Some have had their expensive vehicle engines knocked while trying to escape from the water. Some vehicles got stuck and as I speak with you there are vehicles stuck in water.
“The damage cannot be adequately estimated. Some people have lost their means of livelihood, maybe they work from home, and their gadgets have been destroyed. However, it’s not on record that any house has been submerged so far.”
He further explained that despite the provision of canoes to convey residents in and out of their streets, charting through some of the flooded areas ignited fear in the hearts of the residents.
From Dam to fishing lake?
The ISECOM chairman noted that when he, alongside other estate executives, visited the Oyan Dam on Tuesday, they discovered other activities separate from the hydropower generation, irrigation and potable water supply roles of the dam.
“The only activity in that dam as I speak to you is fishing; we didn’t see irrigated farms or recreational visits, neither did we see hydropower being generated,” Osobu stated.
He alleged that the fishing in the dam was illegal and was not part of the core functions of the dam.
He demanded that prominence should be given to human lives rather than fishes.
Osobu added, “Fishing activities we saw there on Tuesday went undisturbed. 50km to the dam, there were no issues of distress or flooding. Those cages were being protected over human lives.
“Oyan Dam capacity is 63 metres high, the cages we were told need to have water over them and if they go below a certain height, the water may be insufficient for the fish to thrive. We expected that by August, the dam should have been low to 40m so that it would take more water when the tributary serving Ogun River expends water to it but because fishing has to be considered, it wasn’t done.
“Our cry and agitation is that the government should stop fishing activities on that lake. Are you going to preserve fish while people are dying here? Is the fishing activity economical; is it generating revenue for Nigeria, are people being gainfully employed there, what are the advantages to our system?”
Lending his name to the matter, Omigbodun noted that OORBDA had “abandoned flood control for fish cage farming. The presence of fishing companies in the Oyan Dam Reservoir is against the law. By abandoning flood control, OORBDA has inflicted destruction, economic and financial losses, disruption to livelihoods and displacement to residents downstream of the dam.”
Omigbodun urged the Federal Government to immediately move the fishing companies out of the dam reservoir and mandate the companies to “with their resources create ponds for their cage fish farming.”
Akinde alleged that the fishing companies were foreign-owned, calling on the Federal Government to constitute an independent panel of enquiry into the fishing activity.
Buildings on floodplains?
Meanwhile, the management of the dam had absolved itself of blame, saying water would always find its path, and that when water was released to protect the integrity of the dam, the release would inevitably affect houses on the flood plain.
The Minister of Water Resources, Prof Joseph Utsev, also alluded to this when he visited the dam on Tuesday, noting that houses built on the flood plain would have to be removed.
These positions the residents have dismissed, saying the houses in the axis had approval from either Lagos or Ogun state, as the case may be.
The ISECOM debunked comments that the area was along flood plain, stating that the estate, especially Isheri North, was conceived when the President, Bola Tinubu, was the governor of Lagos State.
Osobu added that the government would not have conceived the estate if the area was inhabitable.
He stated, “These lands were properly allocated, building plans were approved and Certificates of Occupancy or Governor’s consent was obtained for people to build there, except we have some other natural challenges that would prevent people from living here, because some people have lived here for 15 to 16 years.”
He further described the flooding as a combination of natural and man-made factors, which he said could be resolved.
Osobu reiterated that the land and building approvals, both in the Lagos and Ogun State sides, were legally allocated to residents.
On their demands from the government, the OSIEC chairman called on the Lagos State government to make estates belonging to the state habitable for its citizens.
He called for a “once-and-for-all solution to the flooding crisis”.
Ogun after a permanent solution – Abiodun
The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, who visited the community on October 23 and 25, empathised with the residents, saying they were not alone.
On his verified Twitter handle, he stated that the Tinubu administration was committed to finding a permanent solution to the incessant flood. He added, “We have decided to demolish the developments on channels to facilitate the unobstructed flow of water from the Ogun River into the Lagoon.”
At plenary on Wednesday, the lawmaker representing Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency of Ogun State, Ayokunle Isiaka, prayed the house to declare the Isheri-Ojodu flood a national emergency.
Isiaka urged the Federal Government through the Ministry of Environment to carry out a thorough conditional assessment of the Isheri-Ojodu lowland areas to find lasting solutions to the menace of flood in the area.
He further called on the Federal Government through the ecological office to construct retaining walls along the banks of the Ogun River in Isheri-Ojodu waterways.
The motion was approved by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass, and referred to the Committee on Appropriation, Works and Legislative Compliance.
On his part, the Ogun State Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, stated that the dam was built to manage floods and could not be a source of flooding.
He reiterated the governor’s stance that a study would be conducted to reveal the remote and immediate cause of the flood, adding that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency had predicted coastal flooding.
He said an advisory had been given to the residents in affected areas to elevate their homes higher than the flood baseline or temporarily relocate to prevent casualties.
Oresanya further stated that the impact of climate change on weather fluctuations could not be ruled out.
“We are not going to leave the people to their problems, we are going to identify with them and make sure they solve the problem as much as we can,” he added.
Responding to questions on whether the residents were given government approval to build in the area being a flood plain, Oresanya stated that flood plains were habitable if the residents followed the proper building style.
He stated, “The only thing is that you have to follow the rules of engagement before settling in those areas. The key question is do they follow the rules of engagement? Yes, there were lapses in the past, even when they were allocated those areas. They would have been advised on the level of elevation if they must build in that area.
“The infrastructure along those areas must be clearly defined to match the expected tidal fluctuations. Yes, there could have been omissions on the side of the government and residents and that is why the government has to respond and ensure that we mitigate the problem that these people are now having from the error of judgment on the two sides.”
While some residents applauded the visits by the Ogun State governor, they berated the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for not visiting the community to show empathy towards their plight.
The Chief Press Secretary to Sanwo-Olu, Gboyega Akosile, promised to get back to our correspondent when contacted during the week but he had yet to do so as of press time.
Meanwhile, efforts to reach the management of the dam were not successful as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the OORBDA, Otunba Olufemi Odumosu, could not be reached as his numbers were switched off.
Meanwhile, the OORBDA in its statements on the operations of the dam and the 2023 water releases forecast for flood control maintained that, “It is to be noted that Ogun-Oshun RBDA will ensure that the Water Releases will be regulated without compromising the Oyan Dam integrity and this action will be keenly guided by Seasonal Climate Prediction from NiMET, Annual Flood Outlook by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, past hydrological database records of Oyan Dam and the real-time weather forecast both for upstream and downstream to take appropriate actions to manage the flood.”
