Tokunbo Wahab, Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, has called on residents in flood-prone communities across Lagos to consider relocating to safer, upland areas due to looming threats of flash flooding.
Speaking in an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday, Wahab emphasized the urgency, citing recent extreme weather conditions and predictions from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet). “We knew this was going to happen,” he said. “NiMet gave us a forecast as early as March, and by April, we had commenced the advocacy and briefed Lagosians about five times in the past three months.”
Following heavy rainfall on Monday that submerged homes and vehicles in parts of the city, Wahab warned that several areas—particularly those along the coastline—are at heightened risk. “On the red, those around the Ajilete axis of Lagos, that’s Ajegunle, they have to move. Those around the coastlines of Ikorodu, around Majidun, they have to move,” he stated.
Wahab identified some parts of Lekki as vulnerable, noting that “their tidal level depends on the volume of the rain, they will be in amber… they are very few.” By contrast, regions like Epe, Ikeja, and Mushin are considered safe zones. “The whole land areas I just mentioned are those that are bordering the Ogun River — those staying around the Channels television station in Lagos down that road — the Isheri corridor,” he clarified.
He also pointed to infrastructural efforts aimed at mitigating flood damage. “Thankfully, the federal government, through the Ogun-Osun River Basin, had awarded the dredging of the Ogun River channels… they should be on amber by now and the Ajilete corridor around the Agboyi-Ketu axis of Lagos,” Wahab added.
Acknowledging the impact of climate change, Wahab stressed transparency and preparation. “We won’t tell Lagosians lies. Lagos will be exposed to the vagaries of climate change, and that means Lagos will have flash flooding. But as a state, we have to provide resilient infrastructure, and we have to tell our people to be responsible. If nature takes its course, what we can do is to mitigate its impact.”
The government’s warning comes amid intensifying efforts to safeguard residents as the city braces for more rainfall in the months ahead.
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