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By Chukwuma Umeorah and Faheem Lawal
The Federal Government has ordered the dredging of the sand-filled Kuramo Lagoon in Lagos as part of measures to address flooding in parts of the state, while maintaining that the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway was not responsible for the flooding experienced in the affected communities.
Minister of Works, David Umahi, announced the decision yesterday during an inspection of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project. He said investigations showed that Kuramo Lagoon, a designated flood collection point under Lagos State’s drainage plan, had been illegally sand-filled by residents, preventing it from performing its drainage function.
According to the minister, the Surveyor-General of the Federation, has already erected a signboard at the site to prevent further encroachment, while the Federal Government has directed that the lagoon be dredged to remove the sand-filled materials and restore water flow.
Speaking on concerns linking the coastal highway to recent flooding, Umahi rejected the claims, insisting that the road was not the cause of the problem. He said the lagoon was a collection point for all the floods within the vicinity, warning that residents had undermined the drainage system by blocking its natural outlet.
“You cannot block the channel and be crying about flooding,” he said.
Umahi argued that rather than causing flooding, the coastal highway was helping to channel floodwater from one location to another through its drainage infrastructure.
He addressed the flooding recorded around Alpha Beach, one of the areas where concerns have been raised over the project. He maintained that the problem predated the highway. “This Alpha Beach flooding is not caused by us,” he said.
He attributed the flooding to deficiencies in the original planning and development of the estate, adding that permanent solutions would require additional drainage infrastructure, construction of a service lane, and in some locations, demolition of buildings obstructing water channels. “Some buildings must have to go,” he said.
He said similar flooding challenges had been recorded in other parts of the country, including Adamawa, Bauchi, Niger and Taraba states, as well as Summit Junction in Asaba, stressing that flooding was a national infrastructure challenge requiring coordinated intervention.
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To improve drainage maintenance along the highway corridor, the minister directed the Federal Ministry of Works Lagos controller to deploy 40 personnel in shifts, 20 during the day and 20 at night to prevent indiscriminate dumping of refuse into culverts and manholes. “We cannot be manning every manhole, there must be discipline in this country along this corridor,” he said.
Managing Director of Hitech Construction Company, Dany Abboud, said the contractor would clear blocked culverts on both sides of the highway and continue monitoring illegal dumping within the project corridor. “We are clearing the culverts on the north side and the southern side,” Abboud said.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Works, Allwell Onyesoh, also dismissed suggestions that the coastal highway was responsible for the flooding, describing the challenge as one experienced in many countries. “It’s happening in Accra, Cotonou, Japan, India, everywhere,” he said.
Similarly, the Director of the Department of Environmental Assessment at the Federal Ministry of Environment, Mrs. Rafiat Odetoro, identified inadequate planning, high water tables, ocean surge and climate change as major contributors to flooding in coastal communities.
She cited the high water table, ocean surge, climate change causing heavier and more torrential rainfalls, and inadequate planning without adequate compensatory measures.
Odetoro added that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway included stakeholder consultations and the preparation of a final report, noting that environmental monitoring would continue throughout the life of the project.
Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Peter Onyekachi Nwebonyi, said flooding in Lagos predates the coastal highway project and urged residents to stop blocking drainage channels and waterways.
“The coastal highway is not in any way the cause of flooding. Flooding in Lagos is as old as the city itself,” he said.
He also called on Lagos State environmental authorities to ensure that drainage channels and waterways are regularly cleared to reduce flooding across the state.
