‘Nature took its full course’ — Lagos apologises to residents over flood

The Lagos state government has apologised to residents over the inconvenience and disruption caused by flood in most parts of the state on Wednesday. 

Speaking with Channels TV on Thursday, Tokunbo Wahab, Lagos commissioner for environment and water resources, said the flood was a case of “nature taking its full course”.

On Wednesday, torrential rain which began in the wee hours, submerged cars and houses in the nation’s commercial capital.

Almost all parts of Lagos including Surulere, Ijesha, Okokomaiko, Ibeju-Lekki, Greenland Estate in Mende, Gbagada, Oshodi, Isolo, Lekki, Ikoyi, Ogba, Ikeja and Ajah were affected by the flood.

Vehicular movement was also affected in a city famed for its perennial gridlock.

Reacting to the development, the commissioner said the flood was not the consequence of failure to plan by the state government.

“I will start by saying to Lagosians that we are sorry for the inconvenience caused by nature yesterday,” he said.

“It’s not a failure to plan that we had what happened yesterday. No, it was nature taking its full course.

“We are sorry for those whose lives were disrupted: they could not go to work, marketplaces, and schools.”

The commissioner said the emergency team hit the road as early as 4am to mitigate the impact of the flood.

“Nature will take its course. What we have to do is to mitigate the impact of nature on the environment. That was what we did yesterday,” he said.

He added that as a coastal city with most suburbs lying below sea level, Lagos will always be prone to flooding.