GODFREY GEORGE tells the story of residents of highbrow Lekki, Ikoyi and Ajah areas in Lagos who have had to suffer losses after flooding caused by heavy rainfall
Streets became streams. Reptiles came out to play in the floodwater that overflowed roads and seeped into the homes of the rich, forcing them to leave their palatial mansions for hotels. On Wednesday, July 4, 2024, the skies didn’t stop to cry for more than 10 hours. The rains continued that evening and caused relentless flooding. By Thursday, floating furniture, TVs, mattresses and children’s toys were sighted in several videos posted online.
In several of those online videos, many residents showed how they had to wade through murky waters to leave their homes.
A particular woman, who said her name was Mrs Shade, lamented how she had lost everything in a home she paid a rent of N3.5m every year for. A short tour round her house showed it was a two-bedroom apartment with a balcony and an extra bathroom.
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When contacted on Facebook, she told our correspondent that she paid an agent fee of N250,000 when she moved in October 2023.
“I haven’t even stayed up to one year in the house. I have lost everything. From my TV, to my new fridge, my furniture, my mattress and every valuable I have used more than 10 years of my life to build are all gone,” she said.
Shade’s experience mirrors that of many residents in the area that has had to battle this recurring nightmare which has become a distressing hallmark of living in some of Lagos’ most affluent neighborhoods, raising questions about urban planning, infrastructure, and the responsibilities of government and residents alike.
Roads were impassable when our correspondent visited a popular estate in the Lekki Phase II area on Wednesday evening. Homes were left opened and residents, our correspondent learnt, had fled as their havens had become uninhabitable.
Several residents were seen navigating the floodwaters, attempting to salvage their belongings.
In many cases, properties worth millions were damaged or destroyed, with cars, furniture, and electronics among the most common casualties.
In one compound, three cars which were parked outside a parking lot had been half-submerged. It would take an experienced car mechanic to perform his/her magic to make those cars start.
(PUNCH)