As the second peak of the rainy season looms, communities nestled along the Ogun River basin are scrambling in a desperate, last-minute bid to avert dire losses from anticipated flooding. For residents of Arepo, Isheri, Mokore, Magboro, Majidun, Maba, and Mawere, the annual deluge is a grim, familiar foe, often exacerbated by the controlled, yet destructive, release of water from the Ogun-Oshun River Basin Development Authority’s (O-ORBDA) Oyan Dam. Despite their commendable self-help efforts, a sense of apprehension hangs heavy, evoking an urgent plea to all tiers of government to honour long-standing promises and prevent yet another year of destruction.

An annual battle against rising waters

Every year, these communities face an existential threat as the Ogun River swells, its banks overflowing with water from relentless downpours and strategic dam releases. The consequences are dire: homes submerged, businesses shuttered, farmlands ruined, and livelihoods shattered. Property worth millions of naira, painstakingly acquired, is lost in a matter of days. Access roads, vital arteries connecting these communities to economic hubs, become impassable, hindering normal daily life.

In a show of resilience, community members have already taken proactive measures. They’ve elevated sections of their most flood-prone access roads, hoping to create vital evacuation routes and temporary barriers. Drainage channels, often clogged with silt and debris from previous floods, have been diligently cleared, and new ones constructed where feasible. Yet, these efforts, however commendable, are but a drop in the ocean against the sheer volume of water unleashed during peak rainfall.

“We’ve done what we can, but it’s simply not enough,” lamented Olarewaju Falade, a community leader at an emergency meeting held last weekend. His voice, heavy with frustration, echoed the sentiments of many. “We are not asking for something new. We are simply calling on the governments to fulfill their promises before the flood comes.”

A litany of pleas and unfulfilled promises

The communities’ appeal centers on critical, long-overdue infrastructure projects. A promised dredging project for the Ogun River remains untouched, a vital undertaking that would increase the river’s capacity to hold water and reduce overflow. Also, a proposed “second channel” by the Ogun State Government, designed to divert excess water from Magboro-Oke Afa to Arepo, Banku, Maba, Mawere, and Majidun River, has yet to materialise. This alternative channel would significantly alleviate pressure on the existing Itowolo channel, a narrow outlet created by the Lagos State Government beside Isheri North Estate, which often becomes a bottleneck during floods.

Over several months, the communities have engaged in an extensive campaign to draw the attention of the Ogun State, Lagos State, and Federal governments. This persistent advocacy has taken the form of five distinct letters, meticulously drafted on three different dates, and addressed to various key government officials.

A paper trail of urgent appeals

For months, these communities have tirelessly advocated for their safety, leaving a detailed paper trail of urgent appeals to various government bodies. Their consistent message, delivered through five distinct letters spanning three key dates, underscores the desperate need for intervention.

On January 29, 2025, the Lagos/Ogun River Basin Communities Association sent a letter to the Executive Governor of Ogun State, H.E. Prince (Dr.) Dapo Abiodun, MFR. This urgent appeal for adequate protective measures for flood mitigation highlighted the devastating 2024 floods, which were exacerbated by Oyan Dam releases, and urged for immediate intervention. The association recommended elevating roads, expanding and completing drainage networks, establishing annual desilting programs, and fostering collaborative flood control strategies with federal agencies.

Also on January 29, 2025, the association addressed a letter to Engr. Dr. Adedeji Ashiru, MD/CEO, Ogun-Oshun River Basin Development Authority (O-ORBDA). This request for enhanced flood control and mitigation measures pressed O-ORBDA for proactive reservoir drawdown, timely data provision, and prioritising flood control over other activities like aquaculture. It also proposed forming an Oyan Dam Downstream Communities Consultative Committee (ODDCCC) for improved coordination.

Earlier, on June 13, 2024, the Lagos/Ogun River Basin Communities Association dispatched a save our souls (SOS) message to the Honourable Minister, Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev FNSE, FICE, FNIWE. This urgent appeal directly linked the escalating flood crisis to excessive releases of substantial water volumes from the dam during peak rainfall, compounded by the dam’s underutilised flood control capacity due to aquaculture prioritisation. It called for optimal use of the dam’s full capacity, climate change adaptation strategies, and the formation of a multi-stakeholder task force.

Then, on February 11, 2025, Dr. Akintola Omigbodun sent an appeal to the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, S.A.N. This appeal to the Federal Government of Nigeria for action and rescue from avoidable floods highlighted the long-standing issue of preventable floods since 2007. It directly attributed them to OORBDA’s alleged failure in its duty of care and its prioritisation of cage fish farm operations, specifically calling for the relocation of fish farms and detailing precise operational instructions for Oyan and Ikere Gorge Dams, along with necessary embankment construction.

Finally, also on February 11, 2025, Omigbodun submitted a comprehensive letter of complaint to the Managing Director/CEO, O-ORBDA, Dr. Adedeji Ashiru. This letter directly challenged OORBDA’s management of the River Ogun system. It argued that OORBDA had failed its “duty of care” by prioritising aquaculture over flood control, despite its mandate. The letter provided historical data contrasting past flood-free periods with the continuous floods since 2007, reiterating the demand for fish farm relocation, specific dam operational levels, and crucial embankment and channel construction.

A desperate, last-minute plea for mitigation

Despite this exhaustive paper trail and persistent outreach, the communities feel their pleas have largely fallen on deaf ears. With the rainy season’s second peak imminent, they are now making a last, frantic appeal, not for a complete eradication of floods, but for measures that will at least ease the pain and reduce the devastating impact.

“We want to cry out to the Governor of Ogun State to remind him of his promises to our communities during the last flood – that he was going to address our roads and drainage,” pleaded Ola Smith, a passionate community representative. “We also want to remind him that the commissioner promised that by May or thereabouts, they would commence work on the second phase of the Opa Aro desilting project, the second leg.”

Smith emphasised the critical importance of this particular project: “Because if this is done, with the way the Ogun River Basin is currently operating, whenever we are flooded, there will be a clear channel to discharge seamlessly into the lagoon. So, we want the Ogun State Government to come and continue the second phase and also clear the first phase because it has been badly clogged with vegetative growth and all the sediment deposit from last year’s flood. So, it is as if they never did anything.”

The appeal extends to the neighboring state as well. “We also want to use this opportunity to cry out to the Lagos State Government because our people on the Lagos State side, they desperately need drainage and also elevation of their roads,” Smith continued. “Their communities down there, they are the real basin whereby all the Isheri communities, even down to Ikorodu, they are in a trough. And with this kind of blockade at Itowolo, it means they will be most severely hit by the impact of flood. So, we want the Lagos State Government to come and elevate the roads in that section and also desilt the major primary drainage linking Isheri to the downstream Ogun River.”

Smith believes that if these critical interventions are carried out – the first leg of discharge at Itowolo cleared, and the second phase implemented – “when water is released into our communities, when it overflows the bank of River Ogun, there will be at least three channels to discharge. With that, the impact of the flood will be less severe.”

He concluded with a powerful appeal to the highest authority: “Not that we will not have flood, but the severity will be low. And if the federal government now heeds our cries, there will be intentional work on the River Ogun, which is the dredging – that is the first pilot project. Then, the embankment walls, the dikes on both sides, to prevent overflow of that river, which is the root cause of our problem because the channel cannot take the volume of water discharged from the Oyan Dam.” (BusinessDay)