In some areas visited by source, namely Olugbode end of Odo-Ona and Oke-Ayo, in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area of Oyo State on Sunday, no life was reported lost, but many residents were rendered homeless with personal belongings worth millions of naira lost in what looked like a repeat of the fatal August 26, 2011 flood
disaster, which claimed many lives and properties in the city.
One of the residents of Oyelade Street, Odo-Ona, Ibadan, Mr Abdulrahaman Bello, a factory worker at 7UP Bottling Company, whose personal belongings were still trapped in his apartment at the time Nigerian Tribune visited the place, said, “I have lost everything to the flood. All my electronics and other valuables are gone. I only relocated to this place in January and nobody hinted me that this house was prone to flood until after I had settled in.
“Ever since I learnt that there could be flooding after heavy rain, I told my wife that whenever I was not around and there was rain, she should try and pack some of our belongings upstairs and move out of the house with the children. But I don’t know why she failed to pack them last night as I was away at work on night duty,”
A shop owner in the area, Mrs Ranti Owolanfe, said: “The houses affected have been witnessing flood since 1980. I could remember at that time that people were helped with ladder before they could come out of the house. Also in 2011, the same thing happened. In fact, everyone in that house had to leave. But it is so sad that months after, we saw the estate agent placing an advert in front of the house that rooms were available for rent.”
It will be recalled that the pedestrian bridge was constructed about seven weeks ago to serve the residents of the community and to enable the contractor to start work on the construction of a new bridge to replace the one that was washed away during the flood that occurred on August 26, 2011.
When Nigerian Tribune visited the bank of the river over which the bridge was built, the flood water flowed in high current while the earth had eaten deep on the river sides, showing imminent collapse if stood on for too long.
Many residents of the community, who converged on the river bank, expressed displeasure at what they termed insensitivity on the part of the state government towards the plight of the community, going by the calibre of the contractor handling the bridge work and the pace at which the work was going.
“If it took about three days to construct the pedestrian bridge that was washed away, you can imagine that we may be holed in our homes for the next one week. Our exams are fast approaching and we must have access to our school,” Student in the area added.
Culled Tribune
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