Omodele Adigun
“Look at all the investments along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, up to Shagamu, multibillion dollars investments, they have all gone three metres below the flood.”
These are the words of Mr Mofid Karameh, the Chairman/CEO of Karamey Industrial City along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, while lamenting the havoc done to investments by the Lagos flood, which has assumed a more deadly dimension this year.
Karameh, who is also the Chairman of Mikano International Ltd, added:
“Come and see many companies, many warehouses and multi-billion dollars sunk into those investments which employ between 400, 000 to 500,000 workers. Today, the water is above everywhere. Nobody can go there to work anymore. The flood is destroying everything there. More than 1,500 of my staff live in that area. I have given loans to more than 300 staff to relocate to other areas this year alone. That is just for one company. Imagine what other companies are passing through”.
So far, 30 people have died this year as a result of the flood in Lagos State alone. According to news report, the casualties last year were 50 and the year before, it was 30 people that succumbed to the devastating flood.
Commenting on the flood menace, an environmental activist, Dr Newton Jibunoh, said until they find out the channelisation plan of Lagos, done in the 60s and 70s, and begin to address the issue, Lagos would continue to be flooded.
A study, however, suggests that the problem can be solved if canals could be opened up at some strategic spots to help the exit of Lagos lagoon, the ‘major cause’ of the problem, into the sea and reduce the level of its boisterous waters.
Jibunoh, nevertheless, explained during a phone chat that the channelisation plan was put in place mainly to take care of excess water either from rain or from the sea but was jettisoned by subsequent administrations in the state.
Hear him: “The issue of flooding in Lagos, being a coastal island-coastal city, when Lagos was planned in the 60s and 70s, there was sufficient channelisation of Lagos. I am shocked to find out that most of the people in power subsequently did not take the channelisation into consideration. If you go round the whole of Lagos, even way down to Ikorodu and [Eko] Atlantic, you will see whole channels that were created in different places. And that was put in place mainly to take care of excess water, either from rain or from the sea any time there was a storm. They were known as primary and secondary canals all over Lagos. A lot of them has been built on. So you see a canal, you don’t know where the canal is going to empty into. And until they find out the plan and begin to address the issue, Lagos will continue…[to be flooded]. And, in fact, Lagos will eventually be submerged if all those things are not taken care of. That is one.
“Two, then you go back to nature. Nature gave us what is known as flood plain. Flood plains are the places where the rain water settles when it is more than usual as it is happening now. The rain water finds a way of going into the flood plain. And the flood plains are not meant to be built on, even, sometimes, when you go for two, three years without flooding. It is usually there on the map in the Ministry of Survey, showing where all the flood plains are in Lagos State. I used to go to that ministry in the 70s and 80s. So they have to look at those plans. I am not sure they have those plans any more!
“Number three is the wetland. There are places also known as the wetlands. They are like sisters to flood plains. All the shrimps, crayfish and crabs that we eat, they all reside in the wetlands. You don’t catch them in the sea. And it is in those wetlands that marine life exists. And that marine life, apart from we eating them, sometimes, they play a major role in the preservation of the ecosystem. Nigerians don’t even know where our wetlands are anymore. Go to Ghana; go to Rwanda; go to Kenya, flood plains are there; the wetlands are there! Nobody must go there; nobody must build on them; nobody must do anything to them because they are provided by nature to take care of excess water; excess rain.
“See, this whole thing of one government coming in, and not wanting to care about what the previous government did or what the plans are… I have even sent my write-up to the nation that if care is not taken, our newest city in this country, Abuja , will become a slum in the next 20 years because they are now beginning to ignore the master plan that was made available in which everything was well articulated. The same thing will happen to Eko Atlantic if care is not taken. It has been very well articulated. There are canals- primary and secondary-it has been well designed. And maybe in another 10 years, a governor would come, not finding a plot to allocate to their friends, they would start blocking the canals. The fact that you are building new thing doesn’t mean you should ignore the old ones. New ones should go over the old ones.”
The geographical study of the lagoon trail shows that many outlets can be created to route the lagoon into the sea and consequently reduce its water level, which causes the flood.
The study made available to Daily Sun proposed the opening of canals in Ojo Area, Agaga in Badagry area, other ones near the end of Snake Island and in Lekki respectively to make the water exit into the ocean.
According to the report, a spot in Ojo area may be suitable for opening 180 metres wide by120 metres length channel to the ocean.
The report explains: “Approximate excavation would be around 130,000 m3 and concrete retaining walls can be built on the boundaries of the canal to create a safe structure”.
As for the proposed canal near the end of Snake Island, the document states that the proposed spot may be suitable for digging a canal of 165metres wide by 300 metres length to the ocean.
“Approximate excavation would be around 300,000 m3 and concrete retaining walls can be built on the boundaries of the canal to create a safe structure”.
Commenting on the report, Karameh said:
“Channelling the waters into the ocean may cost government next to nothing. Just two bulldozers can do it in two days, maybe N400million to N500million to drain the swamp there and put concrete slabs by the sides and the water level will stop going up. And the flooding will cease, Lagos will get relief. It is just like putting gutter besides your house. Imagine we got land; then we still have water. Instead of the water flooding the whole area, you make a gutter for it. When you have a house, you make a gutter; you don’t allow the water to go all over the house. It is still the same. Take the swamp as a house, make gutter for the water. When you want the water to burst, make a hole for it.”
Expressing fears, like Jibunoh, that Lagos migt eventually go under water one day, the Mikano boss said:
“Unfortunately many people living in Lagos do not feel the problem. But automatically, Lagos is sinking with this water. If we don’t take care of this water, we are already living on it, tomorrow, everybody would sink. The water level now is above two metres. Next year, it would be four metres and by that time, we can not do anything to it. Look at Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, you will see that almost all the houses beside the highway [already submerged] and people are dying in the flood. Last year, 50 people died the year before, 30 people died. This year, 30 people have died so far. You know, most of the victims don’t know how to swim. They built their houses along the Lagos Ibadan Expressway. When the water came, it rose to about three metres above the sea level. About 50,000 to 60,000 residents there are now without homes. It is unfortunate that we have a country, and the country is now sinking. When you wake up and you wake up when the water level is above all Lagos State, then it would be too late.”
Comparing Nigeria’s coastal line with its western neigbours, Karameh explained with graphical display:
“This is our Lagos. This is where we have the dam that everybody is complaining about. The dam here is big. All the adjoining areas are swamp. The dam is opened from time to time. We have more than one dam. But If you look at all these areas , you will see that there are no houses because all the area is a swamp area. So all the rains gather here and they gather in another area. All the water from this area has to come to the ocean.
“Let’s start from Cotonou, Benin Republic, they have their own opening to the ocean. They close it . Before, we had 730 metres[coastline], now it is 170 metres.The case of Cotonou is not our case. The land of Cotonou is better than our land because they don’t have Swamp area.
We come to Lagos.This is the lagoon that links Lagos to Benin Republic. We found out that we don’t have any opening all the way. Look at the water. It comes here , all the adjoining area is swamp area, It flows all this way back to Lagos. Here we have this Lagoon and this is the ocean, there is no opening. We continue, all this swamp is still close all the way to Lagos. This is Lagos, the water comes from Abah and Lekki .All this area is water also, where it has to go, there is no other entrance also. So this place was opening before, they came and close it. The water in Lagoon is two metres above the ocean level now.
“What I am suggesting on how we can solve the problem is this: If you come to all the islands here they call Agaga, Snake Island, this lagoon here can link up to Benin. So we have all the lagoon here in the city of Lagos. So If we dredge an opening here near the snake island, the whole water would burst into the sea. If we do another opening here and there where there are no houses, the whole water would go into the sea. Definitely, it is the openings that we need because we have the whole place closed.”
Benefit to Lagos State
As the estimated housing shortage in the country was put at 22 million units, Karameh opined that the draining of the lagoon with help drain the surrounding swamp and create money churning opportunity for the Lagos State government .
He believed that the drained swamp would dry under one year and government can sell the land for real estate development.
Hear him: “ Lagos has to make money out of this problem. This area here (the swamp), if you dry it, you have land for sale. But the most important thing when we come here around Lekki (where Dangote Refinery is located )if you look here, all the adjoining area is full of water. If we come here[other area], all this area is swamp. There is no house there. If we dredge canal to open the area, 1,000 metres or one kilometre, you set the whole water going into the ocean. If it is opened, all the swamp area would dry in one or two years’ time. So Lagos State can sell the (reclaimed ) land. The most profitable area for the government is around Dangote Refinery. If they get the water out and make the land dry, you have 20million people looking for where to live; you are looking for land, imagine if all the swamp here is dry, you can put millions of people there. If you take Holland, Amsterdam water is similar to Lagos. Holland and Lagos have the same climate. That is why Amsterdam people are the best to do dredging. In Amsterdam, they keep bringing sand from the sea to fill their swampy area so that water would not come and take it over because the water itself is big. Here we are not doing that by allowing the water to come. If we don’t ask professional people to come and do their study and get the water out to the ocean, this Lagos will go in less than its time. People have started dying. Nobody sees the signal why people are dying; why this flood? And everybody would put the blame on the dam. The dam is not the problem. This water coming, we have to find a window for it. Ten years ago, why didn’t we have the flood? It was because some structures were not there; the one at Cotonou was not there.[These were the structures that block the exit of the lagoon into the sea]. What we are seeing now is that the water from the lagoon is 210 centimetres than the ocean at one point (Bar Beach area). That means the water may sink Lagos. If you go to Ikoyi, two to three months ago, the water rose by two metres; the water level now is over 60 metres. And if the water comes [continues to rise like that], it will sink the whole Lagos.”
Speaking at a news conference in Abuja recently, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Adequate Housing, Leilana Farha, said there was a need for the Nigerian government to address housing challenges in the country. She further stressed that there was an estimated housing shortage of 22 million units in Nigeria. Her words: “Presently, Nigeria’s housing deficit is about 22 million units, and for a country with a population of nearly 200 million people, it will require a minimum of an additional 2 million housing units per annum for 10 years. The Nigerian government, however, estimated that the housing sector would need about $400 billion investment over the next 25-30 years to resolve this deficit.”
On the other hand, the World Bank said bridging the deficit would cost the country about N59.5 trillion, which further tallies with the estimation of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria which puts it at about N56 trillion.