A severe storm that reportedly struck the Ibeshe area of Ikorodu, Lagos State, on May 25, 2024, has left residents devastated and questioning the emergency response capabilities of the state.
A resident and X user, @swaagsphotos, on Tuesday described the incident as a “Disastrous #Storm” which caused extensive damage to houses, schools, and electric poles in the area.
Despite reaching out to various agencies, including the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, the affected residents claimed their pleas for assistance have gone unanswered.
“Around 1:30am on Saturday 25th of May, 2024 in Lagos State, Ikorodu in Ibeshe precisely, there was a diastrous #storm which damaged so many houses and electric poles. I called the @lasemasocial 767 emergency services. After explaining that there was a storm, and it is now a #Disaster, the 767 agent still asked me, ‘So what is your Ememergency’?” @swaagsphotos wrote.
The resident shared videos of the aftermath, showing the extent of the destruction, with numerous families left homeless and schools affected.
He lamented the lack of response from authorities, tagging the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency and the Commissioner of Environment, Tokunbo Wahab, but with no response.
“So many people have nowhere to sleep from that day onward, so many schools affected too. I tagged @LasepaOfficial and the Commissioner of Environment @tokunbo_wahab, still, nobody reached out to me,” @swaagsphotos alleged.
“Till this moment @IkejaElectric people have not come around to fix these broken electric poles. Who really is in charge of things like this? Is it NEMA or @LasepaOfficial or @rrslagos767? Help me, I am confused right now,” he added.
Meanwhile, in a recent meeting with a reporter from The Economist, UK, the commissioner, Wahab, had emphasised the state’s efforts to combat the effects of climate change and mitigate flood situations.
“Lagos is a small state by land mass but one in every 10 Nigerians is in Lagos. That puts a lot of pressure on the space, and 1 in 4 of Lagos’s space is water. We must take ownership of our climatic situation, it is not just a government thing, it is about all of us,” he stated on X in a post on Saturday. (Punch)
