AAUA Vice Chancellor, Prof Igbekele Ajibefun
The unabated heavy rain which started on Monday till Tuesday has wreaked havoc in several parts of Ondo, Ekiti and Osun states.
It has swept away a final year student in the Religious Studies Department of Adekunle Ajasin University, AAUA, Akungba Akoko, identified as Doyin Motunrayo Boluwaji.
Several communities in the affected states have also been submerged by flood while some towns were cut off and several properties destroyed.
The flood at the sleepy town of Akungba was said to have swept away Doyin at Ibaka Quarters to an unknown destination from a canal very close to her home.
The university authorities yesterday suspended all lectures and tests earlier scheduled for the day. The Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr Victor Akinpelumi in an interview said the institution has engaged the services of local divers and volunteers to search the river to recover the missing undergraduate.
Narrating how the incident occurred, Doyin’s landlord, Mr Elemukona Ademola, who also narrowly escaped the incident as he climbed a cocoa tree, disclosed that the girl was swept off her balance while trying to escape from the ravaging flood.
The landlord disclosed that he had made several efforts to curtail the erosion from the canal before the ugly incident.
Ondo State Commissioner for Agriculture, Otunba Gboyega Adefarati, a native of the town who visited the scene warned the people of the dangers in building houses close to canals.
Adefarati equally cautioned those who drop their refuse in drainages to desist from such act as blockage of drains always lead to flooding.
The monarch of the town, the Alale of Akungba, Oba Sunday Adeyeye Ajimo and another community leader, the Seriki Muslimi of Akungbaland, Seriki Awesu called on National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ondo State and the federal government as well as multinational organizations to come to the aid of the victims.
Properties worth millions of naira were damaged in the town as vehicles, roads, bridges and hotels among other buildings were badly damaged.
They appealed to people to adhere strictly to town planning instruction and NEMA’s warning to those living very close to canals and rivers to quit during rain.
The Divisional police officer in charge of Akungba, CSP Shakiru Ajibola confirmed the incident and said three persons including a landlord of the house where the girl was carried away by flood were rescued.
He noted that divers were still searching for the remains of the drowned girl.
In a related development, many residents of Ado Ekiti in Ekiti State have been cut off from other communities as flood again submerged the popular Ureje bridge.
The bridge links many communities such as Ureje, Federal Polytechnic, Ado, Ijan among others.
Many motorists and commuters were rendered helpless since other alternative routes also witnessed similar problem.
The people were greatly worried over the situation and urged government to find a lasting solution to it.
Ogbese bride along Ise Ekiti as well as Ifaki, Iworoko road was almost impassable due to the heavy flood.
In Osun state, it was also the same experience in Osogbo, the state capital as heavy rain at the early hours of Tuesday, wreaked havoc at Oke Fia.
It was gathered that the Osun/Osogbo River submerged the Rasco bridge along Freedom Park, making the river to overflow into the road and houses.
Many shops and houses in the area were submerged which caused loss of goods and properties.
The flood has made the road difficult for pedestrians, motorists, and motorcyclists to access the road.
A motorcyclist, Olaleye Oladipupo, pleaded with the government to expand the bridge in order to accommodate the volume of water which flows through the area and construct more channels to ease the flow of water.
Oladipupo who lamented that the flood happens every year during raining season said it makes some people extort money from road users.
“Anytime there is flood in this area, some people will start collecting money from road users in order to carry them on their backs across the flood.”
Also, a trader, Habibat Rufai whose goods were destroyed appealed to the state government to expand the waterways and help those affected by the flood.
The residents in separate interviews also urged the government to come to their aid.
The Hope
