The rain started on the 3rd of August. In the middle of the night, around 3 am, someone called, asking me to check my shop. The lady who called had left home. Everybody had left home. All of them went to the shop at that time. They said I should come and check, too, to see if water had entered.
But at that moment, I couldn’t come. So, my husband and some other people came. They saw the water. Later in the evening, when I came, I couldn’t even cross over because everywhere was flooded. All the sand here, you can’t see them then. There was no way I could come inside the shop. I don’t want to remember that day because it wasn’t pleasant.
I have been in this area for the past 15 years; this is the first time this kind of flood has happened. Rain has been falling. Sometimes it enters people’s houses, but this type of rain was far beyond it.
That cement shop caused me over ₦400,000 in damage. But for this shop, I can’t even think. I decided not to because of its psychological effects. Some of my tools were affected. There is still water inside a sealed pack of gum since August 4. I don’t know if it will still work. I have up to 10 packs, including original ones that have been swept away. I don’t know. It entered the ‘stone lace’ (rhinestone lace) despite being sealed. I don’t know if that will still work.
If you know how many of my goods got spoiled and how much I lost. I became very sick. One of my machines is still with my community chairman. The freezer in my shop was affected. I spent ₦70,000 to repair my industrial machine. Everything was affected by water, including the iron I picked from the flood. I am yet to settle down. I started work two weeks ago after the incident.
I am not yet balanced. I had to borrow money to buy goods when people kept demanding my services. For now, I have spent ₦400,000 to repair the damage caused.
There is this road leading to Gberigbe. We learnt that the road is under construction, but they stopped the drainage somewhere. Somehow, when the water could not flow, it found a way to turn back. So, that’s how it has been because of the poor road network. The absence of drainage is not only in this community. It’s everywhere, even from Budu to this place, no drainage. All the streets have no drainage. Nothing.
We are yet to feel the impact of the government since the incident. They only came to assess. They didn’t do anything. The government should come and help us. We need financial assistance. Many people do not have food to eat at this time. So, they should come. The government should come and try to fix the drainage and other issues.
As narrated by: Kehinde Iyonda (Ikorodu, Lagos).
This snippet is published as part of a series, Lagos Under Water.
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