It is no longer news within the Benin city metropolis that rainy season now has become a blessing to residents than the curse it was some years ago..
That residents in some sections of Benin City would before now pray that the rains should be delayed was an understatement because of the wanton destruction that used to come along with them.
The reason was that, the city’s drainages were then in a poor state and needed to be redesigned to be able to carry the huge volumes of floods that accompanied the rains each time they fell.
Many lives and homes were lost to the ravaging floods that followed the rains; communities were completely cut off from other towns while streets were washed off. The city was then desirous of a master plan that would stand the test of time and that would tackle the perennial flooding that had become a nightmare for residents.
Faced with the critical challenge of having to save lives and property, the first phase of the N150 billion Benin City Storm Water project embarked upon by the Edo State Government to check the problem of flooding in Benin City, the Edo State capital, was kicked off by Governor Adams Oshiomhole amid jubilation by Benin residents.
The governor also publicly presented a cheque of N6 billion to the contracting firm, Hitech Nigeria Limited, as first installment to enable it mobilise to site, warning that with the first installment, the company would have no excuse but to mobilise to site immediately.
Flagging off the project during his first tenure in office as governor, Oshiomhole had said the flooding problem of Benin City was not beyond solution as the inhabitants were made to believe.
According to him, it was unacceptable that “while the rest of the world looks towards the rainy season with joy, in fact, in parts of Nigeria, people pray for rain to come, but in Benin City, once it threatens to rain, people are afraid, they are crying. Whereas others celebrate rainfall, Benin people suffer from flooding after rainfall.
“We had incidents in the past in 2008 where some women lost their babies to flood and a number of communities were devastated. This will soon be a thing of the past”, he had said.
The Governor said the challenge of flooding in Benin City required a holistic approach rather than a piecemeal approach, adding that problems were not solved on the basis of the rule of the thumb.
He said that the state government had to carry out studies to find the best approach to solving the erosion menace.
“On assuming office, we called a number of contractors and it was clear that we needed to revisit the Benin City master plan and that the studies that were carried out in the past have been overtaken by time.
“Subsequently, we commissioned a consulting company to give us detailed studies and to advise us on what the problem is, the possible solution and how to commence dealing with it”, he said.
The Governor said it was based on the studies that work was commencing on finding a lasting solution to the flooding problem in Benin City.
Underlying the seriousness of the project, Oshiomhole said: “this is not a window-dressing project; this is not being done for people to say we are working. This is being done because we are genuinely concerned that Benin City must be de-flooded”.
The governor at a recent inspection of the Okhoro river portion of the project site, described the on-going drainage facility as rock solid to resist flooding of whatever magnitude.
According to him, “ the drainage is about 26ft wide and about 8ft high. What this means is that no matter the quantity of water that passes through this area, the inhabitants need not fear anymore.
“The water will pass through the drainage to the river. As we are in the dry season now, we want to quickly rush and do some work on this drainage. As there was no drainage before now, the flood coming from Okhoro through this area wasn’t properly channeled and it led to the destruction of houses, most persons fled, abandoning their houses and some even died.
“That is why we decided to do the work and the last time we did it up to the bridge and everybody said we had to continue with the job. With the rains then, we couldn’t continue and I did say we will continue once the dry season comes and you can see how the drainage is now. We need to do this drainage to de-flood the city so that during the next rainy season, people in this area don’t have to be afraid. The only favour I demand of you as community leaders is to police the place and ensure people don’t dump waste into it so it doesn’t get blocked.”
Giving an account of his stewardship at a forum,Oshiomhole said “I am pleased to inform you that as at today our flagship Storm Water Project, Uwelu East and West Water Catchment De-flooding Project, which covers Adolor College, Uwelu, Teachers House and Uzebu areas of Benin City, and awarded at the sum of N30 billion is about 52% completed. This is in addition to the Airport Road Storm Water Control and the Constain Isonoroh Storm Water De-flooding earlier completed by this Government.
In the same vein, the Upper Lawani and the upgrade of the Uselu 5 Junction moat, (now known as Queen Esther Erediawa Junction) Flood and Erosion Control Projects are 68% and 94% completed respectively.
A resident, Mama Itohan who lives on Upper mission road axis told our correspondent that life now has a meaning to her family and the community.
She said “Words cannot be enough to thank our Comrade Governor. We were on the verge of relocating to other parts of the city before he came to our rescue. You can see for yourself, these abandoned houses, it’s the flood and erosion that made these families run away.
“If you see the flood coming to Ewa road, it can even carry a house. It has killed children in the past, but now, with the concrete wall that he has built, we can now expect rain and sleep in peace. We are not afraid anymore,” she stressed in jubilation.
Another resident of the area, Mr. Godwin Tom Osunde, had told Oshiomhole that, “I am a common man and I am over 65 years now but I have never seen a governor like you. Look at the 2nd East Circular Road, since I was born, nobody, no government has ever remembered the 2nd East Circular.
Also in the Aruosa area of the state, a resident, Malam Haruna Sule, who said he had suffered the impact of flooding and even lost a relation through flooding said that, “When we heard the governor was coming to work on the drain we were skeptical because previous governors had promised that too. But to our greatest surprise, he came, visited the site and I can tell you now that we are not scared of rains anymore.
“We now welcome rain and see it as a blessing; our children now come out to play even when it rains. Our houses are now better protected, those who packed out or abandoned their homes even from here to Erie have come back,” he said.
Mr. Osabuohien Osas, who had resided in Upper Siloko road, close to Channels 55 for close to 18 years described the erosion control project of the state government and the Governor as “God sent.’
“It is not enough to just say we are happy. This man is a God sent.”
“We were completely cut off from the rest of Benin city, houses were abandoned, lives were lost, in fact what can one say? This entire stretch was a no go area. We are no longer scared of rain. We will welcome this rainy season with great joy. We just thank God.”
