For now, rain is not an occurrence residents of Owutu, an
area in Ikorodu, Lagos State, pray for. Each time rain falls, it comes with
horrific experiences.
Situated along the popular Agric bus stop in Ikorodu, Owutu
houses a number of communities that make up Ikorodu West Local Government.
Asolo, Isawo, Ojokoro, Agbede, Ori-Okuta, Igbo-Olomu are some of these
communities.
Visits to the area by our correspondent on Monday and
Tuesday reveal the difficulty residents in the area face each time there is a
heavy downpour.
DISGUST
“Can you see? This is just a rain that lasted for one hour.
How about when the rain begins to fall continuously — for three consecutive
days, for instance?” a woman, whose route from her residence on Olu Adebayo
street to the main road has been blocked by flood, said with disgust.
It is not her street alone that is blocked by flood. Other
adjoining streets like Gunwa-Ola and Omodisu have their entrances blocked by
flood.
Last Sunday when a heavy rain fell, 55-year-old Olanrewaju
Jaji said her son was ‘hurled’ in the flood that has covered the Asolo-Isawo
road of the area.
“As you can see, when rain falls here, it comes with
droppings from hell.
“My son had just completed his university education in the
University of Ibadan. He was returning home last Monday with his heavy luggage
when the okada rider that he ‘carried’ hurled him inside the flood.
“I thank God that he was not injured as a result of that —
or something worse. But this situation is serious. This road ought to have been
done to a stage where rain won’t be of serious damage before the rain came.”
As for Lekan Toheeb, a tricycle rider (commonly called keke
napep), working with the condition of the road has not been a good experience
to savour.
He apparently looked disturbed but he managed to bare his
mind.
“It is not a good experience at all. This rainy season is
giving us headache. Workers can’t go to work. Since morning, my keke has broken
down. Please help us beg the government to do something. I’ve been here for the
past two hours, repairing my keke,” a disgruntled Lekan lamented before
resuming the repair.
True to his word, our correspondent observed people who
turned back home because of the difficulty in transporting themselves to their
places of work.
Mrs Adebayo, a trader in Asolo area, spoke of her
frustration. She lamented the hike in transport fare that accompanies such downpours.
“Transport fare to Agric is now N500,” she said. “When it
is as if we are going to Ibadan. Normally, it is N100, or even N50. As a result
of this rain, we have to pay more for transport.
“See the front of my shop, flood. I had to use this stick to
divert the dirt it came with elsewhere. It’s just too hard for us.”
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