Over the years, flooding in Magboro, Oke-Afa Road, a community in Ogun State, has become a recurring plight for residents and commuters. As the rainy season descends each year, the community is submerged in a flooding crisis that has become all too familiar. Despite multiple complaints and calls for action, the flooded spots on the major road remain impassable during heavy downpours, leaving commuters usually stranded.

Locals in Oke-Afa are forced to use makeshift canoes in dangerous conditions or wade through contaminated floodwaters, which results in injuries, skin diseases, and disruptions to daily activities.
“It’s a daily struggle,” said Lawal Olugbenga, the youth representative from the Oke-Afa area. “Every year, we face the same issues. The roads become impassable, and our children suffer the most. The effects are visible and profound: schools close their doors, businesses shut down, and families are left stranded on the road.”
Flooding in Magboro is not a new phenomenon; it has been exacerbated by years of inadequate infrastructure and urban planning. Chukwuemeka Kalu, the chairman of the Success Estate and the road intervention team lead, said he had been deeply concerned: “I moved into this community in 2010 and that portion was not this bad. This flooding became worse after the channelisation of water during the reconstruction of the Lagos Ibadan Expressway,” Kalu said.
The economic impact of the flooding is staggering. Local businesses report losses of thousands of naira each season. Shop owners recount how floodwaters force them to shut down for weeks, leading to declining revenue.
“When it floods, we lose everything,” said Atinuke Bello, a seemingly frustrated trader. “We can’t afford to keep losing income. There was a time my goods poured into the water while struggling to wade through.”
On her part, Folake Ayeni, a teacher who has seen her students wade through the flooding, decried how they are stuck at home while the adults can barely get to work. Students also feel the burden of the flood’s impact on their education. Ogbu Maryanne, a pupil of the Absolute Success College, highlighted their challenges.
“It has been challenging for me, and those who attend school on the other side, because of the heavy water obstruction. We shouldn’t walk through the contaminated water; it has proven dangerous and contagious. We need support to solve this issue for everyone’s betterment. Many of my classmates have to skip school because of the floods,” he said.
Oshugwemo Emmanuel, another pupil of the Crown Jewel College, also said: “We spend a lot of time trying to cross the water. Sometimes, we stay there until 9 or 10 o’clock, and we often beg people to help us cross. That area has caused a lot of damage for me, and I feel the authorities should work to reduce the water level.”
Residents have, however, constructed makeshift wooden bridges and shared resources to establish safer passageways. Yet, these efforts are only stopgap measures, as the root causes of the flooding still need to be addressed.
Unheeded Appeals for Assistance
Although they have been proactive in solving the problem, locals said their calls have fallen on deaf ears. Over the years, they have written numerous letters to government officials and local authorities, detailing their plight and requesting infrastructure improvements, yet their efforts have proven unyielding.

Chukwemeka Kalu noted that the Ogun state government is aware of this terrible situation and has made no promises or efforts, in the last seven years, to construct the road.
He said: “We built wooden bridges several times to enable us to walk through. We have been contributing to putting stones to reduce the depth. The government is aware of this, as we have written several letters to the government and met the SA on infrastructure.”

“Community efforts have yielded just a short-term relief as the only solution remains a 50 meters low bridge as recommended by the engineers once sent by the Ogun state commissioner for works in 2022 after a brief inspection following correspondences from Oke Afa community for help.”

As the dry season starts, residents remain acutely aware of the looming threat of flooding. The accumulation of debris in drainage systems poses an impending danger, and when the rains return, the situation will likely worsen.
However, as local leaders intensify their calls for attention from both state and federal authorities, they seek the urgent need for proper drainage systems and sustainable urban planning to mitigate future flooding.
Ifunanya Malizu, an Architect, proposed a sustainable solution to the persistent flooding issues on the Oke-Afa road. He recommended redesigning the road network by constructing an elevated roadway supported by pile foundations and reinforced concrete or steel beams, ensuring stability and resistance to water damage.
The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) funded this story through its Empower Women in Media Cohort project.
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