Ijora Badia: Living in Filth in a Megacity

March 1, 2015 – Residents of Ijora Badiya in Lagos are angry. They are only waiting for the right moment to vent their spleen on the Lagos State Government.

The reason is simple. Nothing is practically working in that area. The drainage channels have all collapsed, the roads are impassable at least for vehicles, while human traffic manages to meander from one end to the other and in most cases waiting in turns to move from one end to the other.

Some of the roads, especially Obanle road has been turned into dumpsite,  sewage systems  have collapsed sending a very foul smelling  aroma into the environment. In some places residents pass excrement in the open in this heavily populated settlement.

For some residents it is normal, but certainly not the majority who are spoiling for showdown with the state government.

“They have come again because it is election time. They keep promising to come and do the road, and once election is over that is all”,  Abiodun  Temisan, a middle aged resident told our correspondent.

But it is not just the elderly, you marvel at the level of political maturity of adolescents and teenagers in Obanle road,  just a stone throw from Apapa Iganmu Local Council Development Area.

“No vehicle is able to pass through this place”,  Olu, one of the adolescents discussing with his peers told our correspondent, stressing that residents are disappointed in government.

However, it seems hope is not lost for residents.

Speaking at the February edition of the monthly sanitation exercise, Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello  said the government has captured the densely populated area in its urban renewal plan.

  “The situation of the area we visited is not new. It has been existing for years. We know what the government had done in the last few years especially in terms of road and drainage construction. We need to understand that the community we visited today in Apapa-Iganmu LCDA is a slum. The community is below the sea level and it is not conducive for living.

 “It started as a settlement since the creation of Apapa ports. People migrate there and erect structures on the drainage. And I know what the present government has done in the last few years through interventions funds from the World Bank and others.”

 According to him, drainages were constructed,  but  they collapsed in few months .

 “That was why the Lagos State Government commenced the rebuilding exercise of the community. And it started with the housing project in Ilu-Eri.

“Eventually, the entire community would need to be rebuilt. We are not happy seeing people living in that community. Many infrastructures in the area have collapsed due to segmentation and others. We have to embark on soil test to know the strength of soil.

 “The Obanle road would be resurfaced to give the residents by-pass when the construction of Gasikiya road starts. After the completion of Gasikiya road, the contractor will construct the road. So we cannot construct Obanle road without completing the constructing of Gasikiya road.”

 Also speaking, the Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Works and Infrastructure Mr. Ganiyu Johnson said the state government started road construction in that community with cemetery road.

 “The next is Gasikiya road. And once Gasikiya road is completed, we will move to Obanle and Fadaini road. They were not neglected by the government.”

 The Executive Secretary of Apapa –Iganmu Local Government Development Area Hon. Fumilayo appealed to the state government to assist the council in the construction of roads and drainage channels to free the community from the problem of flooding.