The Lagos State Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Dayo Bush-Alebiosu, has blamed persistent flooding in the state on poor environmental practices and illegal land reclamation.
Bush-Alebiosu said indiscriminate waste disposal, illegal dredging and unauthorised reclamation had continued to undermine efforts to tackle flooding in the coastal state.
He spoke on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday.
“It is important to identify what the problem is in the first place, and the problem is nothing other than bad habits. I mean, illegal reclamation and illegal dredging affect it on one hand; habits affect it on the other hand,” the commissioner said.
He said while illegal reclamation was driven by commercial interests, poor waste disposal stemmed largely from residents’ attitudes.
“At the end of the day, those who, out of habit, dump refuse aren’t doing it because they want to make money from it. However, those who are reclaiming illegally are doing it for commercial purposes. So, you have both sides,” he said.
Bush-Alebiosu also decried the practice of dumping human waste into the lagoon, warning of its environmental and public health implications.
“The first thing is that some people even dump faeces into the lagoon and things like that. This is the same lagoon that feeds us. You know you’re eating fish that’s feeding off faeces,” he said.
“So all of these things eventually will come back to bite us, and this is just a typical example of what we’re seeing at the moment.”
Lagos has experienced flooding in several parts of the state in recent weeks following persistent rainfall, with residents reporting disruption to movement and damage to property.
The incident triggered widespread outrage, with many residents criticising the Lagos State Government over the recurring flooding that submerged major roads, left motorists stranded, disrupted commercial activities, and inundated homes across the metropolis.
Flooding often affects major roads including Gbagada, Iyana Ipaja, Ikorodu Road, Ikeja, Maryland, Mushin, Ogudu, Lekki, Oshodi, Agege, Alimosho, and Obalende. Sections of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, and Lekki-Epe Expressway are also frequently affected.
