Oyan Dam: Anxiety grips Ogun communities over fresh flooding

Residents of communities at Isheri, Arepo, Lafenwa, Warewa, and other adjoining areas along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State were thrown into panic on Monday following a flood scare due to the release of water from the Oyan River Dam by the Ogun-Oshun River Basin Authority.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the residents started to witness a gradual increase in the current of the Ogun River on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the water has overflowed, spreading across areas some metres away from the river bank.

Our correspondent who observed this on Tuesday also discovered that the areas around the Long Bridge have been flooded.
Some of the residents expressed fear over what they described as another round of flood crisis in their communities.

A resident of Isheri North GRA, Muftau Alabi, told PUNCH Metro that water had begun flowing into some of their streets.

He said, “We woke up on Sunday and saw our street gradually flooding. Everyone is worried now but we are still coping with the situation. Those who are close to where the water came in from cannot drive into their premises any longer. We hope this won’t be a repetition of the disaster we witnessed last year.”
Our correspondent observed that the whole of the industrial avenue where companies such as Mikano and Hogan Technologies operate had been flooded.

Another resident, Kunle Adejobi, said some residents had been considering relocating out of the area.

“It is sad we are experiencing this flood problem again. People are already thinking of leaving the area to avoid being caught up in the usual flood crisis.  I am still observing if it won’t get beyond this level before I consider a temporary relocation.”

The Chairman of Riverview Estate, Abayomi Akinde, said the flood was not at a threatening level yet in the major parts of the residential areas while expressing hope that it would recede soon.
Akinde also disclosed that water is being released from the dam above its normal percentage, resulting in a flood.

He said, “There is some little flood and water is coming in gradually but as of now, we are not raising an alarm yet because it is not at the threatening level yet. We are only hoping that it will recede. Some people in the North GRA are still managing to enter their houses but not with their cars anymore, but it is not that bad for now, although the water is increasing every day.

“This is absolutely as a result of the dam. For now, they are releasing water at 12 per cent. I have always said, when water is released at 10 per cent, it is enough for us to notice. You will see water everywhere. Although they say it is not their dam, tell them to close their dam to five per cent and see what happens in the next three to four days. The water will disappear.”
Barely a year ago, some residents, traders and other business ventures on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway were sent packing by a water surge induced by the release of excess water from the Oyan River Dam.

The state Governor, Dapo Abiodun, who inspected the flooded community, said his administration was working with the Federal Government to deal with the situation as an emergency case.

Addressing residents of the Riverview Estate, Abiodun said he had requested an area survey of the estate to identify critical areas that needed immediate intervention.

He also assured the public that the intervention would come through the construction of an elevated road with adequate drainage to mitigate their suffering.

When contacted on Tuesday, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Lekan Adeniran, did not respond to calls made to his telephone. A text message sent to him had yet to be responded to as of the time this report was filed. When contacted, the Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, said the dam was deliberately opened to prevent recurrence of the flood crisis in Borno State, adding that the state government had earlier in the year dredged some tributaries currently being opened up to mitigate the effect of flooding in the communities.

He said, “We said in our forecast earlier in the year that the rainfall pattern in October would be about 200 millimetres. The Ogun River is a tributary to the River Niger and the spill from River Niger will come into the Ogun River and this spill gets to the Oyan Dam which is supposed to retain the water for irrigation and electricity generation. During this period, you cannot lock the dam. You have to open the dam otherwise it will break and the disaster that happened in Borno State may happen and we don’t want that. So, there must be a spill at this period and the volume they must spill is about 15 million cubic metres per day compared to the one to two million per day spilled in the earlier part of the year.

“So, we have opened up the tributaries of the Ogun River and have dredged one of the major tributaries in the earlier part of the year. And by now, from the level of spill from the dam, most of the communities would have been flooded as it used to be but because we have done what we are supposed to do, that water is not getting to the residences. It goes into those tributaries that we opened up earlier. Even though you can see water around you, it will not get to you, there will not be a need for relocation because the state government has done what they were supposed to do,” he added.