Appeal to government to expand the erosion control to address perennial flooding
Aminah Salako – Adekunle
Succour has come the way of road users and residents of Gaa – Imam Adisco area along Ilorin Ajase – Ipo highway, as government commenced rehabilitation work, months after a report by Radio Nigeria on the deplorable condition of the busy highway which caved in, posing danger to people.
Radio Nigeria, in December 2024, in an investigative report under Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism Fellowship reported the difficulty road users go through while plying the road, due to a portion of the road which caved in.
The Controller of Works, Federal Ministry of Works in Kwara State, Engr. Gana Zhitsu while speaking with our reporter in October, 2024 said that the Ministry would soon commence reconstruction work on the bad portion of the road caused by failure of an erosion control.
However, the State Government has started work on the road, correcting the erosion control failure, including the caved in portion on the major highway.
A store owner in the area, Mrs. Kehinde Ogunleye commended government for the ongoing work on the road which has overwhelmed her with fear over the years. Mrs Ogunleye said that she was afraid of witnessing another fatal accident due to the dilapidated road, especially whenever it rains, during nightfall or while unsuspecting motorists drove-by.
She was therefore, full of joy that eventually the road is in a good shape and praised the construction company handling the work for their diligence.
The Gaa – Imam Adisco road under reconstruction. Photo: Aminah Salako – Adekunle
“We’re so grateful to God and we’re so grateful to this government for remembering us because all these years that we’ve been living in fear, if he didn’t remember us what can we do “, Mrs. Ogunleye said.
Also, an ice block maker in Adisco area, Mr. Muhydeen Adedeji thanked government for fixing the road which he described as a death trap with account of different accidents that had occurred on the spot.
Mr. Adedeji however, appealed to government to expand the erosion control, as flood usually takes over the highway, their compound and sweep vehicles into the drainage, whenever there is a downpour.
“We want government to send their monitoring team of experts to look into how there can be permanent solution to the perennial flooding facing us. If there is heavy rain, which usually fall every 2 or 3 years, everywhere will be flooded, cars would not be left out, as water will wash everything away,” he maintained.
In an exclusive interview with Radio Nigeria, the engineer supervising the project, Engr. Ahmed of AIB Consultant explained that the State Government decided to fix the Federal road considering the deteriorating condition of the road.
“As you can see, half of the road has already depleted, under a very bad condition, so we need to reclaim the road, so that it doesn’t eat up all the entire carriage way. What we have done is a retaining work, which is to protect the road from continuous erosion and degradation of the carriage way.
“Presently, we’re done with the retaining work as you can see, so we are trying to fix the carriage way so that we can properly reclaim the way, so as to make it easy for road users to ply.
When asked if the work done will solve flooding challenge confronting the area, Engr. Ahmed said that the erosion control failure was as a result of depleted surface, which makes it difficult for water to pass into the canal. According to him, the work done has been rectified with the provision of water ways to guide the flow of water.
Residents lauded government’s intervention and responsiveness to their plight.
Earlier in April this year, the Federal Government has alerted 1,249 communities in 176 Local Government Areas across 30 States and the FCT, on potential severe flooding expected between April and November 2025, urging them to take necessary precautions.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, who revealed this information while launching the 2025 Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) in Abuja, listed some of the States at high risk of severe flooding, to include Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara, and the FCT.
Other states on the list include Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Gombe, Imo, and Jigawa.
Mr Utsev expressed grave concern over the rising threat of flood in the country, emphasizing that the increasing frequency and severity of floods have been worsened by climate change.
