Mr Oluwatoyin Awosika, the Director, Public
Enlightenment, Lagos State Ministry of Information,
on Friday urged residents living on flood-prone areas
to relocate to safe locations.
Awosika told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in
Lagos that the ministry had commenced sensitisation
of the affected residents to change their attitudes in
order to avert flood disasters.
He said that the state spent huge resources to make
refuse collection cheap and affordable, adding that
measures were already in place to relocate residents in
case of flood disaster.
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“People would tell you all sorts of things, the water is
flowing, they dump everything there but it is going to
block somewhere so what happens, the water will
fight back into homes.
“At night they cross the roads to dump refuse into the
drains and on the highways.
“Government is always very careful.
“If you force people out now they would tell you
where do you want to relocate them to.
“Government doesn’t have the house to relocate, if
there is a flood disaster, we would move them to the
Imota and the Egbeda resettlement areas.
“So, you can’t say you are going to push them there
until the rain leaves, so the best is to advice (them) to
evacuate.
“It is not easy sincerely, where are they going, are
they going to rent new apartments and then come
back when the rains have stopped?
“So government is to continue to sensitise you to the
dangers.
“Why we are telling you to relocate is that if a serious
flood comes you are now giving the excuses of
money and this, lives would go.
“You cannot buy the lives, your property gone, you
cannot replace most of them, so it is better you try to
relocate.
“Our own is to continue to hit the mindset, attitudinal
mindset that is all we continue to do.
“People change; we keep showing the documentaries
for people see how the drains are blocked.
“What happens, how they deflood, hit the road, spoil
houses, everything.“
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NAN reports that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency
(NiMet) had predicted heavy rains and possible
flooding in 2015, and advised people living on flood
plains to relocate to safe areas
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