Lagos Govt Identifies Real Cause of Persistent Flooding

The Lagos State Government has attributed the state’s recurring flooding primarily to poor public habits and unauthorised land reclamation activities. 

State Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Dayo Bush-Alebiosu, made the remarks during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday. He emphasised that these human-induced factors continue to undermine efforts to tackle flooding in the coastal megacity.

“It is important to identify what the problem is in the first place, and the problem is nothing other than bad habits,” the commissioner stated. “Illegal reclamation and illegal dredging affect it on one hand; habits affect it on the other hand.”

Bush-Alebiosu distinguished between two main drivers: residents who habitually dump refuse — including human waste into the lagoon often without commercial motive, and individuals or groups engaged in illegal reclamation and dredging for profit.

Recent weeks of heavy rainfall have triggered flooding across several parts of Lagos, disrupting movement and leaving many residents stranded. Videos and images of the affected areas spread widely on social media, prompting public calls for urgent government intervention.

The comments come amid ongoing discussions about flood management in Lagos, where environmental challenges are frequently compounded by rapid urbanisation, poor waste disposal practices, and unregulated development on waterways and wetlands.

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