Vehicular and business activities were disrupted across parts of Lagos State on Wednesday after hours of heavy rainfall triggered flash floods in several communities.
Flood-prone areas such as Maryland, Lekki, Ogba, and Ikorodu were the hardest hit, with residents lamenting that their homes and shops were submerged. Viral videos on social media also showed motorists navigating flooded roads at a snail’s pace while pedestrians waded through waterlogged streets.
On Olatunji Street in Maryland, the overflow of a canal cut off access to the adjoining Mende community. A resident, Chinasa Nnadi, described the situation as a recurring nightmare.
“This has been happening for years now. People even swim to their houses. Some are forced to relocate because the flood makes it difficult to move in or out,” she said.
Business owners were also not spared. Kalu, who runs a shop in the area, said:
“I watched as people tried to scoop water out of their homes. I suffered the same fate as water flowed into my shop.”
In a nearby church, the flood destroyed musical instruments. A member, Christiana, said the congregation would have to spend heavily to repair or replace the equipment.
The downpour worsened gridlock across the state, with vehicles breaking down on waterlogged roads. Commuters spent long hours in traffic, while some, like Victor Obinna, said they were forced to sleep at work whenever it rained to avoid being stranded.
The Lagos State Government, in a statement by Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, sympathised with residents and assured that measures were being taken to mitigate flooding. He explained that flooding in parts of Lekki was due to technical challenges, while obstructions caused by illegal constructions and indiscriminate dumping of refuse also worsened the situation.
“Clear infractions were observed in some of the videos shared yesterday. The state government will ensure that illegal structures, obstructions, and reclamations without proper approvals are promptly removed,” Wahab said.
He urged residents to cooperate by keeping the environment clean, refraining from dumping refuse in drains, and avoiding construction on floodplains.
While the commissioner confirmed that most of the flash floods had receded by Thursday morning, he stressed that Lagos, being a coastal city, would always remain vulnerable during heavy rainfall but that ongoing investments in drainage infrastructure and enforcement would help reduce the impact.