Greedy sand-filling causing Lagos floods — Bode George

A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Bode George, has blamed persistent flooding in parts of Lagos on what he described as indiscriminate and “greedy” sand-filling of the Lagos Lagoon.

Speaking during an interview with real estate expert Femi Rogers uploaded on Facebook on Thursday, George said large portions of Ikoyi and Lekki were originally surrounded by water before extensive land reclamation altered the natural landscape.

According to him, the environmental consequences of the reclamation projects are now becoming evident.

“The whole of Ikoyi was sandfield all the way to Falomo. We don’t have that history documented. Even I struggle to remember because I’ve never really read about all these things. We don’t have proper documentation of what happened,” he said.

George recalled that the Lekki villages existed long before the extensive sand-filling that connected parts of the area to Ikoyi.

“The Lekki villages were there, but it was all sandfield connecting back to Ikoyi. It was all water,” he said.

He warned that excessive land reclamation had significantly reduced the lagoon’s capacity to receive stormwater, worsening flooding across the state.

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“My fear now is that the lagoon has been sand-filled to a senseless level. If you get to the IBB Bridge, you’ll notice that the level of the lagoon is now higher than the road,” he said.

According to him, the situation has reversed the natural drainage pattern, making it difficult for rainwater to flow into the lagoon.

“When it rains, the water is supposed to flow into the lagoon, but they have narrowed it through greedy sand-filling, with everybody thinking they are building waterfront properties without considering the environmental impact,” George stated.

He added that without mechanical pumping systems, floodwater would continue to accumulate on roads because the lagoon now sits at a higher level than surrounding infrastructure.

“The lagoon is now higher than the road. So when it rains, how do you expect the water to flow into the lagoon without pumps? You must be kidding.

“That’s why the whole place gets flooded. The roads are flooded. Go through the Obalende Canal during the rainy season, and you’ll see water everywhere,” he said.