Residents and Developer Suggest Pump to Solve Flooding in Ikoyi Estate

A developer and some residents of Osborne Foreshore Phase II Estate in Ikoyi, Lagos, have suggested putting in a high-capacity industrial pump and building a central reservoir to fix the ongoing flooding in their area.

The developer, Ken Ukaoha, told PUNCH Metro on Thursday that the new facility would gather excess water from the estate and send it into the lagoon. A shoreline barrier would also stop lagoon water from coming back into the community.

He explained that this setup would replace the various pumping systems in the estate with one central facility that could move water after it rains.

He said, “The idea is to have a reservoir where all the water will be channeled. Instead of having different pumps, they will have one industrial pump that will discharge the water into the lagoon.

“The reservoir will collect all the water in Osborne, and after the rain, the industrial pump will evacuate it into the lagoon. The shoreline will prevent water from the lagoon from flowing back into the estate. That way, only water from Osborne will be discharged into the lagoon,” he said.

Ukaoha pointed out that the flooding problem was due to the estate’s low-lying, sand-filled land, which he said keeps settling, along with the growing number of high-rise buildings in the area.

The developer also denied claims that his company blocked a canal. He explained that two separate waterways, the Dolphin Canal and the Ilubirin Canal, serve the area but are not connected.

“The Dolphin Canal goes from Dolphin to Osborne to the lagoon. The Ilubirin Canal comes from Ilubirin to Osborne. They are not linked anywhere. The canal passing through my site serves the Ilubirin axis and is not connected to the Dolphin Canal, which is a major source of flooding concerns in Osborne,” he said.

Ukaoha mentioned that the reservoir idea was previously on hold because of worries about the costs of running the pumping system.

He said the new chairman of the estate’s Board of Trustees has agreed to look at the proposal again with the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

He added that the new estate management is also thinking about working with the Ministry of Environment and the Lagos State Government to deepen the canal before the next rainy season.

Ukaoha said another developer could do the work, meaning his company might not be involved in the project anymore.

The developer also denied accusations that he intentionally locked out the Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, during his visit to the construction site on Saturday, October 31.

Hamzat came to the estate with a team of government officials and met with some residents about their complaints.

Ukaoha clarified that he was not in Lagos when the visit happened and did not get any official notice that the deputy governor or other officials would inspect the site.

“Nobody locked the deputy governor out of the site. The site was locked because nobody was there. They gave a circular that we were meeting. So, everybody was away. It is a construction site, and nobody was there,” he said.

On the claim that his company built under high-tension electricity lines, Ukaoha said the state’s physical planning authorities need a 25-meter setback, which he said his company followed.

He added that Lagos State building approval and environmental officials had visited the site, checked construction materials, and took samples for testing.

Also talking about the flooding, a resident named Moses, who runs classes in the estate, said the recurring flooding has affected residents in many ways.

He said, “We have suffered from recurring flooding in this estate for years, and it has affected residents in different ways. Whenever there is heavy rainfall, people worry their homes and properties may flood. We need a permanent solution, and if the proposed reservoir and industrial pump can effectively channel excess water into the lagoon, we will support it.”

Another resident, who asked to remain unnamed for privacy, said the current setup has not fixed the problem.

He said, “An industrial pump is worth considering because the existing drainage arrangement has not completely addressed the flooding problem.

“The estate management, developers, the Lagos State Government, and the Federal Ministry of Housing should work together to ensure the project is implemented. We do not want another rainy season to come without a lasting solution.”