By Cynthia Johnson
Ajumose area community development association in Adoodo-Ota local government area of Ogun State, comprising no fewer than thirty-five communities, has had residents expressing fear of impending floods resulting from the recent overflow of the river in the area.
Residents of the communities lamented that the flood which has taken over their access roads whenever there was heavy rainfall, has paralyzed the education of their children and businesses.
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News men gathered that affected communities include Mosafejo, Onjuwan, Toluwalase, Ajumoni, Idera, Ilisa, Oke-odo, Love and Peace Island, Liasu Balogun, Itura-Ilisa, Victory CDA, among others.
It was also discovered that the communities after an overnight rainfall, observed that the bridge under which the river passed through, was overflowing with water, while the sides of the bridge were filled with swamp, distorting the flow of the river.
Whenever there is heavy rainfall, students are forced to stay away from school for fear of drowning in the heavy current of water that takes over the road, and businesses are shut down until the water subsides, according to residents.
Decrying the pitiful situation of members of the communities whenever the road was flooded, the community head, Akinola Adeola, noted that the flood often denied residents access to health facilities and education, due to the absence of schools and health facilities in the communities.
In his words, “Our challenge is the lack of a good road, especially the situation with Mosa River, which often overflows the road. Students are denied access to school, while adults cannot go to their businesses.
“During the rainy season, most people often desert their houses, and we cannot access the health centre because the available one is far from our communities. We sometimes have to gather ourselves as adults to monitor the movement of persons, especially students, to avoid drowning,” he added.
Also decrying the neglect by the government despite the efforts of the communities to communicate their pain to the local and state governments, which has yielded no results, was the Vice Chairman of the Community Development Association, Joseph Ijiola.
He noted that officials from the state Ministry of Environment came to inspect the situation after a letter was sent by the communities to the ministry, adding that they (officials) had yet to take any action.
He went on to say, “There are thirty-five CDAs in Ajumose zone. We have been experiencing the situation for about three years now. Each time there is flooding, transportation in and out of the community is often halted, which paralyses business and education for residents and children in the communities.
“We have written letters to the government, and a team was sent to inspect the situation. I followed up with the team and was informed that a report had been submitted, but since June when the letter was written, nothing had been done about it. Now, there are issues of flooding here and there; our minds are no longer at peace,” he added.
One of the residents, John Omotosho, lamented how he lost his mobile phone given him by his children to the flood, as he tried to pass through. He claimed to have lost contact with some of his associates, as that affected his business.
