Traders in Sasa Market in Osogbo, Osun State on Sunday, while speaking on the flooding experienced by the market following heavy rain on Saturday, urged the State Government to expand the bridge on the Sasa River to prevent incessant flooding of the market when there was heavy rain.
During a visit to the market on Sunday, some of the traders, whose stalls were affected, betrayed emotion, as they lamented their losses.
Speaking on behalf of the affected traders, the Iyaloja Agba of Sasa Market, Mrs. Rianat Lawal, said the market has been experiencing flooding in the past 5 years because the bridge on the Sasa River was rather too small for the volume of water that will pass through whenever the area witnesses heavy rain.
She further said, “The bridge on the Sasa River is too narrow. There is a need to expand the bridge and dredge the river more. This is not the first time flood will affect the market. It happened 5 years ago and also in 2021.
“The incident affected many traders, selling provisions, cattle, ram and cassava. They lost good money to the flooding. We went to the Ministry of Environmental sometime ago to complain but the problem still persists.
“I want to appeal to the state government to help us expand the bridge and also expand the river to allow easy flow of water, especially whenever there is heavy rain. Also, we are seeking government assistance on behalf of those that lost goods to the incident.”
Meanwhile, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke has directed relevant agencies of government to activate the state’s flood prevention plans with immediate effect.
The governor issued the directives after receiving reports of the inspections of the recent Osogbo flash floods which affected some areas in the state capital.
A statement by the spokesperson to the governor, Olawale Rasheed, said Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Teslim Igbalaye and other top government officials had visited the affected areas.
According to the statement, Adeleke specifically instructed the Ministry of Environment, Works and other associated agencies to speed up work on all ongoing chanelisation projects and launch the implementation of flood prevention agenda of the state government.
Part of the programmes include clearing of blocked drainage and waterways, removal of structures blocking river lines, sensitization against refuse dumping in waterways and continuation of channelisation programmes of the administration.
The statement partly read, “I direct the relevant agencies to set out to work on our flood prevention programmes. What we experienced was a flash flood but we must be proactive. All work plans already approved must be implemented without further delay.
“Osun is one of the states listed on the flood alert. The rainy season is here and we must be on the alert. We have launched many channelisation programmes across many towns and villages. This is still ongoing.”
