Refuse obstructs Ogunpa channelisation

By Adetunji Adeleye

GOING through some of the completed portions at the site of the multi-billion naira Ogunpa channelisation project in Ibadan, one would see refuse dumps which have obstructed and threatened free flow of water in the channel raising the fear of flooding.

Two months ago, the Minister of Environment and Housing, Mrs. Halimat Tayo-Alao, expressed disgust over the heap of refuse at the site of the project which cost Federal Government about N5 billion and as a result, requested the firm handling the project, RCC Nigeria Limited, to clear the refuse and expedite action on he project.

Recent visit by the Nigeria Tribune to the site showed that heaps of refuse have continued to mount up with nothing being done to remove them.

The heaps of refuse apart from obstructing the Ogunpa channel have continued to pose new threat to life and property and in no distant future, the city may witness another flood.

People who are living and trading around the area have continued to dump wastes inside the canal not minding the danger it poses to life and property.

One of the staff of RCC Nigeria Limited, the company which piloted the project, said that all attempts to make people around the site not to dump wastes in the channel were resisted by both residents and traders who have made it their habits to dump wastes in the channel. He added that several times efforts to stop them have resulted into fighting between them and the staff of the company.

He stressed that many of those people believe that rain would wash away the refuse dump.

The Oyo State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Mukaila Aborode, said the Alao-Akala’s administration had bought 250 waste bins for the residents with the additional delivery of 20 trucks for the management of refuse in the metropolis which residents are not taking advantage of.

It appears that the age long culture of throwing and dumping wastes in the canal has not changed. One would have expected the residents of the town to have learnt from history of Ogunpa flood disaster.

In an effort to curb the incessant menace of over flooding of Ogunpa stream the Federal Government of Nigeria under the leadership of former president Olusegun Obasanjo awarded a contract to Reynold Construction Company to undertake construction of the channel along the stream.

Since then, the company has been making progress constructing bridge, culverts and roads for the same purpose. Enterprising as the whole idea is, it appears as if some unscrupulous squatters mostly traders are bent on frustrating the efforts of the government.

The conversion of uncompleted bridges at Akilapa, Ogunpa, and the one near Ansar-Ud-deen mosque, Oke-Padre into commercial centres while canvassing patronage from dawn till dusk and blocking up every passage way including those meant for pedestrians. Any advice to remove their wares is usually rebuffed.

Also some motor spare part dealers and mechanics at Lebanon area also contribute to the problem by turning the passage specially constructed by the company for the evacuation of refuse from the project site into a place where mangled motor parts and discarded tyres are dumped.

Some irresponsible persons living around Oke Bola, Agbokojo, Osoba, Akuro-Popoyemoja and Bode market are in the habit of dumping refuse in the channel. The stream which ought to be cynosure of all eyes is fast turning to filthiness.

There is no right thinking person that will pass through the Ogunpa channelisation that will not be sympathetic towards governmen’s huge investment at making life easy most especially for those living beside the stream without those people considering the long term consequences of the damage these senseless and barbaric activities may lead them to.

What is government doing to address this new menace? Efforts should be directed towards public campaign against dumping refuse in the stream in order to abort flooding that may occur if urgent action is not taken to change people attitudes and orientation of dumping refuse in the stream.