The management of the Ogun Osun River Basin Development Authority (O-ORBDA) on Wednesday allayed the fear of possible flooding in the Isheri—Olofin, Akute, and other communities downstream of the Oyan Dam due to water release from any of its facilities.
With particular reference to the systemic release of water from the Oyan Dam, O-ORBDA urged property owners who are annually affected by flooding in the Lagos axis of the Ogun River to courageously embrace the truth about the causes of flooding in their communities rather than continually blaming activities at the Oyan Dam.
O-ORBDA’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO), Engr. ‘Deji Ashiru stated these during a media chat held in his office at the Authority’s headquarters located along the Alabata Road in Odeda Local Government Area of Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, as part of the measures to enlighten and educate the people of Ogun State on the looming flooding predicted by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).
Apparently reacting to what he termed a “misrepresentation of facts” about how the Oya Dam project would benefit Nigerians, Ashiru explained that the 42-year-old project has accounted for why entire communities in its downstream have not been washed away by water from rivers in the neighbouring countries that poured contents into the Oyan River but were gated by the dam project.
However, Ashiru’s enlightenment came on the heels of the periodic flood alert raised by the Ogun State government. The alert directed residents living in riverbank and wetland areas of the state, such as Akute, Alagbole, Isheri, Magboro, Makogi, Orimerunmu, Iro, Kajola, and part of Abeokuta metropolis, to prepare for an overflow from the Ogun River “as a result of controlled release of water from Oyan Dam.”
On Monday, the Ogun State Commissioner for Environments, Ola Oresanya, said an “increase in the water flow into the Oya dam would inevitably force the release of water from the dam.”
He disclosed that 42 other water tributaries that pour their contents into River Ogun downstream of the Oyan Dam cause the flooding, which annually displaces property owners in the communities at the riverbank and wetland areas of River Ogun, which include Akute, Alagbole, Isheri—Olofin, Magboro, Makogi, Orimerunmu, Iro, Kajola, and part of the Abeokuta metropolis.
