Lagos govt identifies real cause of persistent flooding

The Lagos State Government says the perennial flooding in the state is caused by bad public habits and unauthorised land reclamation.

The State Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Dayo Bush-Alebiosu, said this on Tuesday when he featured in an interview on Channels Television’s ‘The Morning Brief’.

According to him, these factors continue to make it difficult to address flooding issues in the coastal state.

“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 further stated that: “At the end of the day, I mean, 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.”

Bush-Alebiosu cited the dumping of human waste into the lagoon as one example of such bad habits, stressing that in recent weeks, persistent rainfall has led to floods in several parts of Lagos State, leaving residents stranded and movement grounded.

DAILY POST reports that footage and pictures of the flooding circulated on social media, with many Lagosians calling on authorities to address the challenge.