A group of prominent Lagos Indigenes under the aegis of De Renaissance Patriots has called on the state government to act immediately without further delay to address the environmental challenges, occasioned by flooding which it said has become an annual ritual in Lagos Island and other parts of the state, including Lekki phase.
De Renaissance Patriots Foundation made this call on Monday in a statement jointly signed by its President, Prince Adelani Adeniji-Adele and secretary-general, Yomi Tokosi, copy of which was made available to newsmen, saying that the environmental implementations of this pending disaster and imminent flood-related problem would not be an every year scary situation that had disrupted lives, commerce and health of people in these affected areas if it had been properly mitigated.
Besides, the group also charged the State House of Assembly led by Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa and the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu to raise their voices on this matter to save the situation.
This was just as it seriously noted that dumping of waste in the gutter, notwithstanding “the regular admonition of our people, traders, etc al by leaders and government” to stop such practice might just be one of the major factors causing flooding and drainage blockage.
The group of Indigenous Lagosians in particular called on the state government to act promptly “to save the loss of our beloved ‘Homeland,’ Lagos Island our place of birth, which it said was of inestimate values and memories, and a place demanding the goodwill from governments across the globe from ‘sinking’ if a permanent solution is not found.”
De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, therefore, charged the state government to “create that access into the lagoon and stop water from the lagoon from coming inside,” now that the water had nowhere to go.
“We write, knowing full well that there existed natural causes like the flat terrain of the area but more importantly human interventions in the area arising from the earlier reclamation efforts around the Island, construction of the Third Mainland Bridge and the Adeniji-Adele Road.
“It is equally disarming that with all these obvious disadvantages, the construction of the Ilubirin Housing Scheme was allowed to happen without giving thought to its vast impact on the environment or at least initiating adequate methods to address issues arising,” it added.
De Renaissance Patriots Foundation sadly noted that as it was Ilubirin and in some other areas of the state, including the Lekki/Ajah axis, unmitigated reclamation of land without a reclamation policy and adequate policy thrusts remained condemnable, saying it was another factor responsible for the problems.
According to the group, the signs are not good, expressing sadness that residents were allowed to continue to witness the shame of impending environmental disaster despite the “availability of solutions within the ambit of government.
“We demand immediate action from the government and request it to address our concerns. DO IT RIGHT.
“Our call is to both government and people, let’s interrogate ourselves and see how effective we could be. Let’s protect our rights and the environment.
*We also mention specifically the ongoing huge reclamation and drainage going on in Park View estate which is pulling sand off existing and flooding the whole of the axis and demanding a restraint.
“In summary, we fault the actions taken so far as ineffective, wasteful and want more to be done.”
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