We have experienced many months of scorching heat in Lagos State and we all prayed earnestly for the rain to start. It's looking like the prayers are answered and rain has started falling- though not yet consistently- but we are a lot relieved by the cool breeze that has started blowing. At least we can now sleep with more comfort.
As everyone is joyful for the rain, which is becoming more consistent gradually, certain areas in Lagos State are still wishing this time never comes. Even as they were not spared from the harsh effects of the heat, they still appear to prefer the period of heat to stay to experiencing the obvious havoc the rainy season wrecks and the hardship that accompanies it.
A practical reference is the Powerline road in the Mosan/Okunola LCDA in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State.
This road is less than four kilometres long, unfortunately, the stretch of it that is motorable is just about two hundred metres- from the front of Raufu Aregbesola Hospital and around CAC Lion of Judah. That is just roughly about two percent of the entire stretch of the road. So sad.
The road is supposed to serve as the major link to numerous streets in the area and a connection to some other roads like Okunola road, Mufutau Adeyemi, Odemuyiwa and 5th Avenue Road, but motorists have to seek alternative routes to connect to their destinations because of the deplorable state of the road.
As motorist are lamenting, pedestrians appear to be worst affected as the road becomes flooded, slippery and mostly impassable. On many occasions have people been prevented from going to their work places and school children from attending schools for fear of falling into the overflowing gullies. This, obviously, affects negatively economic and academic as well as other social activities in the area.
It beats my imagination that the government will sit down unconcerned and watch its citizens go through such hardship and be exposed to that high level of hazard.
I think we should become more proactive in this country and not wait until disaster strikes before we start to take necessary actions.
I hereby call on all the stakeholders saddled with the responsibility of making life easy for the people of Lagos State, especial in Alimosho LGA, to stand up to their responsibilities and provide relief to the people in the Powerline area of Mosan/Okunola LCDA.
Èkó oni baje o