The rainy season is known to come with a sense of cool and calm mostly enjoyed by all, but could also be a precursor for occurrences such as flooding and its attendant problems including threat to human life, destruction of properties and infrastructure, and adverse impact on agriculture on the environment.
Statistics from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development show that Floods causes more than 40 billion dollars in damage, worldwide, annually.
In Nigeria, as much as Flooding results from the overflow of water course, a number of factors aside heavy rainfall can join forces to result in flooding. Subtle and unobvious factors including: dam breakage and blockage of water channels by wastes and non-degradable materials, bad drainage systems and illegal structures often built along drainage paths, topography and human activities can constitute risk factors that add up to trigger flooding in a particular area.
Over the years, flooding has remained a source of worry to successive governments in Lagos State as it seems impossible to find lasting solution in areas such as Mushin, Ogba, Agege, Ojodu, Lekki-Ajah and many areas that have witnessed floods this year. Quite a number of other states in the six geo-political zones of the country are not exempted from the challenge.
Particularly in the Federal Capital Territory, areas like Galadimawa, Efab Estate, Lungi Barrack and Lokogoma have recorded loss of lives and destruction of properties as a result of recurring incidents of floods in recent years.
In all of this, the intervention of the Federal Capital Territory Authority is critical as some efforts made have included: pulling down illegal structures that block water channels, while also making deliberate efforts to clear off impediment to water flow in drainages as part of solutions to mitigate incessant flooding in the Territory.
As the country gets into the peak of the rainy season, this becomes an urgent call to those saddled with the responsibility of ensuring proper city planning, waste disposal and infrastructure development to consider the plight of Nigerians and expedite actions that will forestall the reoccurrence of devastating floods that claim lives and properties yearly, as flooding remains a seasonal threat to Nigerians.
