Lagos-Ogun Border Community Warns Of ‘Impending’ Tragedy Over Collapsed Canals, Bridge As Rainy Season Starts

Motorists plying the Toll gate boundary link bridge between Lagos and Ogun States along the Lagos Abeokuta Express way and residents of Ilo- Boundary Ajegunle community in Oke -Odo Local Council Development Area in Lagos State will soon be submerged by water if drastic measures are not taken by the Lagos State government to repair the canals and bridge.

The community, which shares land boundary with Ogun State at the Toll Gate area Lagos – Abeokuta Express -Way is virtually sitting on a time bomb as visit by our Correspondent shows rain had destroyed the drainage canals and the link bridge separating the two states.

It was also gathered that due to rain fall recently, three school children returning from school were swept into the canal in Ilo Boundary Ajegunle community Agbado Oke- Odo LCDA . Residents said the children were rescued from death by meat sellers who witnessed the incident.

Following the worsening state of the canal and link bridge and to avert the impending disaster, the residents are calling on the Lagos State and the federal governments to urgently repair the canals and the link bridge.
Speaking on the rescue of the school children, Mr. Suraju Ojikuto, the chairman of the Abbattior in the Ilo- Boundary Ajegunle community said ” The situation of the canals and link bridge is very worrisome. There was a time it rained heavily during the day and school children were caught up in it. There were these three children going home and the canal wall collapsed and they were swept away. Fortunately, some of our meat sellers saw what happened and they quickly jumped into the flood water and rescued the children and took them home. Vehicles cannot ply the roads near the canal and the link bridge separating Ogun and Lagos state is being washed away and will collapse when there is heavy rain.”

Speaking on behalf of the residents , the chairman Community Development Association, Ilo Ajegunle Boundary,Pastor Jeremiah Omomogbe, said government officials from the Lagos State Ministry of Environment and members of the House of Assembly in Ogun state have visited the area to assess the extent of damage to the bridge and canal but nothing has come out of the visits.

He said ” We have over 100,000 residents and the canal is going from bad to worse. We have written letters to the Lagos State Ministry of Environment and they have been here to assess it. They drew a plan on paper that they will soon start work but since the last adminstration in Lagos State left office, we are yet to see the government implement the plan. Anytime it rains, the canal gives way and our community suffers flooding. Our lives are not safe and that of motorists plying the road daily. As I speak ,any heavy rain soon will collapse the bridge and the canal. “

Further investigation shows that the Folashade Tinubu market at the Ojokoro end of the bridge is fast being consumed by erosion which have resulted to traders relocating from the market due to fear of being swept away.
Chief Mrs Bose Ibrahim the leader of the Folashade Market Ilo Oja said ” This market was given to the traders by Folashade Tinubu. She bought five plots of land and gave it out for market but flooding from the dredging of the canal is washing away the market. More than half of the market land has been affected and the traders are relocating. It is a very bad situation and if any heavy rain falls, the bridge and canal which are already collapsing will give way completely. We were over one hundred traders but due to the flooding , more than half of our traders have moved out of the market. We have made a lot of efforts on our part to sandfill the market. There was a time we constantly loaded five lorries of sand daily to stop the flooding but this and other measures have not stopped the flooding from destroying the market. We have involved the authorities and they promised to repair the canals and bridge but for more than four years since they dredged the canal, nothing has been done. Our fears are that since we are entering the rainy season, the bridge and surrounding canal will collapse and lead to lost of lives and property. Our businesses are being affected badly as traders who usually bring goods to us from other states have stopped coming. We are appealing to government to repair the bridge and the canal urgently “.

A business man, Mr Raji Lamidi, said businesses close to the canal and the bridge are at risk of shutting down as he urged the Lagos State government to urgently come to their aid.
He said ” It is sad that the governments are not seeing the impending danger . The canal’s walls have already collapsed and the bridge linking Ogun and Lagos States is wearing out and can collapse if measures are nor taken immediately to fix the canal and the bridge. This link bridge and the canal are very important to the economy of both Lagos and Ogun States and the country at large. There is a lot of vehicular movement of goods worth billions of naira and people going into and out of the two states every day and this can come to an end if rain falls and destroy the canal and bridge”