Tokunbo Wahab Replies Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour




While we were busy working on immediate short term, medium term and long term solutions to the recent flash flooding in some parts of Lagos, my attention was drawn to a simplistic suggestion by Mr. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, an idea driven more by political correctness, cheap attention seeking, and the pursuit of relevance than by genuine problem-solving.

Let me quickly highlight a few important considerations in addressing flood-related and other environmental challenges in a city of over 23 million people into the smallest state with just 3,577 square kilometers of land and 186km of coastline atlantic with residents from across the country, and each bringing different environmental and waste management practices.

1/16
Lagos is an aquatic city. Like Venice, Amsterdam/Rotterdam, Bangkok, and Jakarta, much of Lagos sits low and close to the sea. That means heavy rain + high tide can create short-term flooding, even when drains are working.

2/16
Lekki’s floods were a compound event: a fast, heavy downpour happened around the same time as a high tide. When the sea level is high, water can’t leave our drains as quickly. Streets then hold water for a few hours before it recedes.

3/16
For the purpose of enlightening you, this phenomenon is called “tide-locking.” Plainly: when the ocean or lagoon is high, it’s like trying to pour water uphill. Outfalls (where drains meet the lagoon) cannot empty fast, so water backs up. I hope you get that now!?

4/16
Different cities face different problems. Venice fights sea surges with movable gates; the Netherlands makes space for water on land and uses pumps; Bangkok stores stormwater in parks; Lagos’ main issue is heavy rain + high tide on very flat land.

5/16
The right solution to address these climate change-related flash flooding events in Lagos is a three-part approach which the state government is already implementing some:

(1) Store water for a short time (water detention),
(2) Move water through wider, clear channels,
(3) Control backflow with one-way valves and, where needed, pumps.

This refines the masterplan to address current climate realities.

6/16
What’s already in motion (2023–2025): maintenance of ~579 km of secondary collectors (693 sites) and ~309 km of primary channels; EFAG rapid-response teams have cleared ~444 km of drains; enforcement has restored 40.3 km of encroached channels; 218 new channels have been awarded for construction, adding ~1,500 km when completed; pumps are now being integrated where topography requires them; and early-warning measures include daily forecasts and water-level monitoring.  

7/16
Why water detention matters: it is temporary storage—holding rainwater on a plot, in an estate lake, or a designed basin for a few hours so trunk drains aren’t overwhelmed. It is essentially “queueing” runoff so everything doesn’t arrive at once.

8/16
Why one-way “flap gates” help: they are valves at outfalls that let stormwater discharge to the lagoon but stop high tide from pushing water back into the system.

9/16
When gravity is not enough, we add pumps. In very low areas this creates a ‘polder-style’ cell: water collects in a controlled basin and is pumped out when tide permits. A first installation to address flooding on Lagos Island is undergoing testing at Ilubirin and will be commissioned soon.

10/16
Near-term actions 
(0–6 months):
• Intensify silt and trash clearance at known choke points, especially Ajiran/Agungi.
• Install debris screens on key culverts so bottles and plastics don’t block inlets.
• Pilot estate lakes and on-plot detention to create spare storage capacity for intense rain events.


11/16
Next steps (6–24 months):
• Build a Lekki Blue-Green Network linking estate lakes, canals, and green corridors to store and slowly release water.
• Install flap gates and pilot pumps at the most tide-sensitive outfalls.
• Intensify enforcement of canal rights-of-way, building on channel restoration already achieved.  

12/16
Longer term (2–8 years):
• Add pumped drainage cells in the lowest basins.
• Complete secondary-drain planning and lock in drainage easements (protected space for canals).
• Restore key wetlands.
• Update building codes so major new projects provide on-site retentio n/detention.  

13/16
Keeping drains clear isn’t only about water. It is also about waste. Lagos has banned Styrofoam and commenced enforcement of single-use plastics restrictions from July 2025. Less throwaway plastic in the street means fewer blocked grates and manholes.

14/16
Waste infrastructure upgrades support flood control: more material recovery facilities (MRFs) and transfer loading stations (TLS) keep waste off streets and away from inlets. A planned 60–80 MW waste-to-energy plant at Epe (~2,500 t/day feedstock) will further reduce indiscriminate dumping and littering.

15/16
Daily basic street maintenance matters too: ~15,000 sweepers keep roads and water inlets cleaner; ongoing encroachment removal restores canal width and flow. These may not make headlines, but they immediately reduce flood risk. Without them, flooding is more frequent and more damaging.  

16/16
Bottom line: Floods are driven by physics, not politics. The plan is to store, move, and control water—underpinned by maintenance, enforcement, early warning, and clear public metrics - so that heavier-than-usual rainfall plus high tide no longer means disruption for Lagosians. Or how do we explain the flood situation in Japan in August 2025 or the flood situation in Florida, and Western Europe and other regions of the world with more resilient infrastructure, but Climate Change and not political correctness. Obviously, attending an Ivy League School is not a conferer of intelligence.