By Charles Akinbode
Raging flood on Saturday evening washed away traders’ goods worth millions of naira at Sasa Market in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
Items include foodstuffs, beverages, goats among other goods were reportedly washed away as the market was submerged, according to some of the victims.
The Iyaloja Agba of Sasa Market, Mrs. Rianat Lawal, who spoke with newsmen on behalf of other traders, explained that the flood started after a heavy rainfall on Saturday evening.
She lamented that the market has been experiencing flooding since 2018 “because the bridge on the Sasa River was rather too small for the volume of water that will pass through whenever there is a heavy rain.
“The bridge on the Sasa River is too narrow. There is a need to expand the bridge and dredge the river more. This is not the first time flood will affect the market. It happened 2018 and also in 2021.
“The incident affected many traders, selling provisions, cattle, ram and cassava. They lost good money to the flooding. We went to the Ministry of Environmental sometime ago to complain but the problem still persists.
“I want to appeal to the state government to help us expand the bridge and also expand the river to allow easy flow of water, especially whenever there is heavy rain. Also, we are seeking government assistance on behalf of those that lost goods to the incident.”
Meanwhile, representatives of the Osun State governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, have visited the scene on a spot assessment.
A statement by the governor’s media aide, Malam Olawale Rasheed, said Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Teslim Igbalaye, and other top government officials had visited the affected areas.
Rasheed said the governor specifically instructed the Ministry of Environment, Works and other associated agencies to speed up work on all ongoing chanelisation projects and launch the implementation of flood prevention agenda of the state government.
According to him, part of the programmes include clearing of blocked drainage and waterways, removal of structures blocking river lines, sensitization against refuse dumping in waterways and continuation of channelisation programmes of the administration.
The statement partly read: “What we experienced was a flash flood but we must be proactive. All work plans already approved must be implemented without further delay.
“Osun is one of the states listed on the flood alert. The rainy season is here and we must be on the alert. We have launched many channeliszation programmes across many towns and villages. This is still ongoing.”
