Flood Threatens Lives, Property Of Ife Residents

Yusuf Oketola

LIFE is no longer at ease with residents of Alajobi Line 4, Safejo community, Ife East local government of the State of Osun.

Residents of the community are currently being threatened by landslides, coastal erosion and flooding, a challenge they have been facing for over five years.

OSUN DEFENDER noted that flooding has become a yearly occurrence, affecting lives and property of the people living in the area, including destruction of farmland and livestock.

The affected property

Parts of the property destroyed by the flood in the area include houses, church and burial ground.

According to residents of the area, all the preventive measure they put in place did not hold back flooding and landslide, urging the State Government to come to their aide.

The residents said they have continued to battle with landslides, coastal erosion and flood every year during the full blast of the raining season.

Speaking with OSUN DEFENDER, Chairman of the community, Mr. Damilare Akinwale, chided both the state and local government for leaving them to their fate, saying the governments have abandoned the community.

Akinwale said the yearly flooding has become a big problem to residents of the community, disclosing that fear always envelops them whenever rain is about to fall.

Corroborating Akinwale’s statement, one of the community leaders, Mr. Olagunju Olusola, urged both the state and local government to help the community to dredge the river in Safejo, as well as reconstructing the bridge on it

He said: “The state and local governments should come and do environmental impact assessment in Alajobi line 4 Safejo community and know exactly what we are passing through, so that they can take urgent necessary action to prevent our community from going into extinction.”

Rainstorm Wreaks Havoc In Ilesa

Some residents of Ilesa, State of Osun, are still counting their loss as property worth several millions of naira were destroyed by a stormy rain in the ancient city on Tuesday.

The 3-hour downpour was accompanied by storm which blew off the roofs of residential buildings and public infrastructure in the town.

Areas where the stormy rain wreaked havoc are General Hospital, Winuola , Bello streets all in Ilaje, Ita-Ofa and Idasa communities of Ilesa West Local Government Area.

Narrating his ordeal, a septuagenarian, Elder Olabode Bello, whose house’s roof was completely blown off, called on the State and Federal Emergency Management Agency to come to his aid to protect his belongings from further damage.

“The rain caused a lot of damage in our area. I want to appeal to the State and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to come to our aid”.

Another affected resident, Mr Olubunmi Olatunbosun, who resides at Wonuola Street, said the devastating development had caused serious damage to electric poles and other installations, thereby throwing the area in darkness.

Olatunbosun urged the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company to fix the damaged poles on time to salvage the situation.

“The heavy downpour has thrown the area into darkness. Electric poles and building roofs were seriously destroyed in our area. People are still counting their loss”, said Olatunbosun.

General Hospital, Ilesa was also touched as one of its buildings’ roofs was blew off by the rainstorm.