Photo credit: BBC
I commiserate with fellow Egbas and our guests over the floods which happened today. I’m comforting those who lost their relatives to the deadly floods. I know it’s so painful to lose loved ones, particularly unnecessarily. But who are we to question God?
Of course, so many people lost properties, but let’s thank God that, ‘Omi lo danu, agbe o fo’. And we pray that, ‘ile oba to jo ewa lo ma bu si’.
But we need to tell ourselves some home truths. Although floods, like other natural disasters, do not announce their impending havoc, however man has found means of scientifically predicting, in most cases almost precisely, that they will happen. It is not as if man is still accurate in that anyway.
That is why when natural disasters are suspected in the developed climes, people try as much as possible to prepare for them. Let’s even forget that.
What is the level of waste management system in Ogun state now? Is it organised towards an adequate waste disposal system?
I’m asking because even when we construct large drainage systems without effective waste disposal systems, people end up dropping their trash in the drainage systems. The drainage systems, on their own part, get blocked. That might mean that instead of drainage systems, we have succeeded in constructing trash centres for the people.
As we all know, water will always find its own level.
I also believe that at this point in time a solution must be found to the Oyan Dam overflowing its banks and flooding the Abeokuta metropolis as a result.
That is why it’s not the best for our people to be selling their future for the proverbial mess of porridge by taking money or other gratification from people seeking public offices.
Let them come out on issue based campaigns. Let’s also question them on what they intend doing for the people and particularly the environment. And we shouldn’t stop the questioning, even when they are already in office.
We, the people, are their employers. The earlier we started acting like employers of the political office holders’ labour, I guess the better it would be for us and our land!
071318
