A flooded apartment.
’Femi Asu
The recent flooding experienced in some
parts of the country, especially in Lagos, has raised fears that
petroleum products in filling stations’ storage facilities located in
the affected areas may have been contaminated.
Real estate experts, including land and
estate surveyors and valuers, as well as town planners have said the
massive flooding in Lekki, Ajah, Ikoyi and Victoria Island, will lead to
a reduction in the appetite of prospective tenants and property buyers.
A top official in one of the fuel
marketing companies in Lagos told our correspondent that the fuel in the
underground tanks in some of the stations in the affected areas would
have been contaminated with water, and this could damage car engines.
“Some stations may not want to go
through the process of draining the water. Lekki, Ikoyi and Victoria
Island, among others, are prime areas and that is why we have many
standard stations along that line. There are stations that sell one
truck a day,” the source said.
The Vice President and Head of Energy
Research, Ecobank, Mr. Dolapo Oni, noted that most filling stations were
using underground tanks to store petroleum products, saying, “The basic
worry is how much of the tanks have been affected.
“How much petrol could have been
adulterated or contaminated with water? What have stations done to
reduce the risk of contamination by water?”
The Executive Secretary, Major Oil
Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Obafemi Olawore, said, “We have
our environment, health, safety and quality departments that will look
at everything. For major marketers, before we send one litre out, we
have made sure that the product meets every standard.
“If any marketer goes to his station
after the flood would have receded, he will check everything; no
marketer would sell fuel adulterated with water.”
The Vice President, Africa Chapter,
International Real Estate Federation, Chief Kola Akomolede, said many
people would be discouraged from buying or building properties in
flood-prone areas of Lekki, Ikoyi, Victoria Island and others.
He, however, said the floods would have a significant effect on a country with acute shortage of accommodation.
“If it were in a country where there are
several other choices, people will move en masse from Lekki and
Victoria Island axis. We are not likely to see that kind of movement
because there are no alternatives,” Akomolede stated.
According to him, some properties may
remain unlet or unsold for some time, because of the flooding issue,
adding, “That is supposed to bring down prices or rent.”
The Principal Partner, Ubosi Eleh &
Co, an estate surveying and valuation firm, Mr. Chudi Ubosi, said with
the flooding, people would worry a lot about buying properties in Lekki
and would be a lot more circumspect and careful about what they buy.
“Developers will also be a lot more
cautious about development, creating adequate channels as much as they
can for water to run off,” he added.
A former President, Association of Town
Planning Consultants of Nigeria, Mr. Moses Ogunleye, said the principal
cause of the floods in Lagos was non-adherence to the physical
development plans that had been prepared for various parts of the state.
He said, “For instance, there is what we
call Lekki Infrastructure Master Plan; I am not sure a substantial
percentage of that plan was implemented. We have a master plan that the
government itself funded and it did not fully implement. The master plan
says there should be new roads and drainages, and that canals should be
constructed, among others.
“If we had these kinds of rains, that I
don’t think were major, and we are having floods, then it means more
problems will come.”
Ogunleye added that all the drains in
the Lekki corridor should be properly re-emptied, as part of the
short-term measures to stem flooding in the area.
“In the medium to long term, let there
be a functional drainage system in Lagos,” he said, adding that there
would be need for the demolition of some buildings on flood paths.
A surveyor and Managing Director,
Lordsfield Limited, Mr. Ropo Olajugba, said, “When you sand-fill swamps
and wetlands for construction and everyone filled to his own height,
where do you expect the water to go? When yards are floored with cement
rather than grass, then you can’t complain of flooding.”
He stressed the need for the country to
develop modern flood management skills and techniques, which he said
could only be achieved with proven technology.
“All physical development must be
referenced to same datum: mean sea level. Meanwhile, a holistic
measurement of what is where as presently existing must urgently be
made, with a technology called Lidar; this will give a bird’s eye view
of the topography of every half a metre space within the region,”
Olajugba stated.
He added that blockages would be identified and future single development referencing could be achieved.
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