The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, has mandated Local Government Areas in the State to constitute their local emergency management committees within 96 hours and send the telephone numbers of the members to its head office in Alausa.
The Permanent Secretary, LASEMA, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyitolu who gave the directive in Ikeja during a roundtable and flood fact finding at the LASEMA’s Headquarters explained that the measure would ensure better synergy in emergency management.
Presenting the findings from the three senatorial districts of Lagos following two weeks of flood sensitization by LASEMA, the Agency’s Director of early warning systems, Mr. Toka Sunday warned that Lagos residents would experience more dangerous flash floods if residents fail to cooperate with emergency responses senders.
Using Eti-Osa as a case study on why flash flood does not recede after downpours, Mr. Sunday identified poor waste disposal mechanism, urbanization, and rapid population growth as the bane
Proffering a holistic solution to flooding in Eti-Osa, LASEMA’s Perm Sec, Dr Femi Oke-Osanyitolu said some of the buildings that blocked major drainage in Osapa, may have received illegal approval, and urged residents to report suspicions of illegal structures in the neighborhood to the appropriate authorities.
“Were letters sent to the Ministry of Environment and Office of the Drainage to know the canals? The early warning should work with the council engineer and Council manager to look at these canals. All these things we could have asked the Council managers. Did you inform the Ministry of Environment and the Drainage, did you tell them? Did you tell them the update on which of the canals are having, problems? You have to be definite because as a public servant, you must be accountable to what you are doing ” – Oke- Osanyitolu
The meeting was attended by representatives from Mushin, Surulere, Apapa and Lagos Mainland Local Governments.
The Chairman of Mushin Local Government Mr. Emmanuel Bamgboye called for not attention to flooding in his Council Area, which he attributed to the failure of the PSP in charge of evacuating refuse
” We have about Thirty – Four markets and Mushing has the largest in the whole of Lagos State so because of that there is the tendency to generate more refuse that is why I said, you must attach one PSP to each market and if you cannot do that, this person when they don’t see where they will dump their refuse, they put it all along the road. Adding that you can find out that everywhere in Lagos now, there is a big huge if refuse here and there” – Bamigboye
Mr. Bamgboye also canvassed the clearing of canals and major drainage systems from time to time to ensure the free flow of flood water.