By Jimoh Sulyman
A community, Ogoluwatedo in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State, is currently enduring a torrid time due to flooding.
The flooding has ravaged the community, destroying many property therein.
Speaking to National Pilot, the Chairman of the community, Ajibaye Olusesan, said “The community members have been plying this road for long, it linked to Abayawo village in Asa Local Government Area, but we are unable to access the road because out Community is flooded due to the water encroaching into our community from IDC at Afon.”
The problem has worsen due to lack of proper drainage system on the road, this is what allowed the body of water to encroach into our community. That is why we’re pleading to the government to come to our aid and rescue us from this disaster”, Olusesan concluded.
Another member of the community Adefemi Adegboye, while expressing his frustration said, “I have been awake since 5am, I couldn’t sleep, flood came all the way from Afon into our homes, I haven’t seen this before in all my years of residing in this community.
“The government should come to our aid, we can’t access the road any longer, several houses have collapsed due to this flood, the house beside mine is near total collapse. We are appealing to the government to come to our rescue”, Adegboye said.
Alhaji Yusuf Oloyede also known as Alfa Owode, a senior member of the community also lamented on the flood that has ravaged his community, leaving several collapsed building in its wake.
Pointing at a collapsed building “that house was just completed last week, we have never experienced this before and what is happening now is still a mystery to me. The flood killed a lot of our livestock”, he lamented.
Monsurat Abdulwahab a nursing mother, also narrated her ordeal, saying, “we’re unable to sleep, I just gave birth to a baby, our house was flooded overnight, all our belongings were affected by it.
She also disclosed that “The problem was caused by the collapsed fence of IDC at Afon, it is the fence that has given way to the water, which is now making our life a nightmare”.
A Council official who spoke to National Pilot under the anonymity, noted that a committee has been inaugurated to solve the problem by constructing a good drainage system to ameliorate the situation.
He added that, “truly contractor already came from Abuja concerning the road but the funniest thing is that government prioritize the road at Laduba and Afon both of which are in much better state than this road”.
“When we realized that we will be waiting in vain for the federal government, this prompted us to approach the chairman of KWARMA and other companies along this axis to collaborate to save the road, since the state government hasn’t been forthcoming”.
