By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
Residents of Ibadan, Oyo State have been urged to end the indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the Ogunpa channel to prevent another flood disaster in the city as witnessed in 1960, 1963, 1978, 1980 and 2011 in the city, which claimed many lives and destroyed properties worth billions of naira.
The warning was handed out by a non-governmental organization (NGO), the EnviroNews Advocacy & Campaigns for Sustainability during a campaign tour of several designated areas in the city.
The group led by its executive director, Michael Simire, and head of legal department, Yomi, decried the transformation of the Ogunpa River channelisation into a waste dump and the encroachment into allowable setbacks, saying that such practices pose risks to Ibadan and Oyo State as a whole.
According to Simire “We are deeply concerned about the Ogunpa channelisation issue. We set out today (Tuesday) to do some campaigns; to advocate and talk to the leaders and the people.
“We started with the office of the Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr Abdulmojeed Mogbonjubola, and he acknowledged receiving our letter (petition) and said that the ministry was working on the issue. We went to the State House of Assembly, BCOS, Ogunpa Channelisation Project, 32FM, Splash FM and Fresh FM.
“We talked to the market women, and they appreciated our efforts but said that they do not have a place to dispose of their refuse, so they turned the channel into a waste dump. We suggested to them that they can, as a group, collaborate with the waste management authority, local government or waste management consultants.
“They acknowledged that the dumping of refuse in the channel might result in another disaster because the drainage channel is being blocked gradually and when water comes, it will find its way.
Earlier, in a petition forwarded to the Oyo State governor, Mr Seyi Makinde, the group called on the state government to stop illegal dumping of refuse in the Ogunpa River channel and put in place measures to ensure that the incident will never re-emerge in future.
