LAGOS metropolis was, again, brought to its knees by flood, following about six hours of heavy rain fall on Wednesday. Commercial activities remained at the lowest ebb, even as of 2 p.m., as many streets remained impassable while most offices could not open because of flooding.
An okada rider was almost drowned while trying to avoid running into a passenger bus near the Ikeja flyover on Agege Motor Road. It took the intervention of some passers-by to prevent him and his passenger from being swept away by the flood.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, the effect of the rain led to the late arrival of many workers of the various aviation agencies. When the Nigerian Tribune went round the agencies, most offices were found to be near empty, while the few workers, who were on the ground narrated the hardship they went through before they could get to their offices.
Flights were delayed as the rain affected visibility. Only few flights were operated during the rain. The downpour, which began at about 6 a.m., continued till midday in some parts of the city, forcing many people to remain indoor, while only a few commercial buses were on the road.
Some motorists, who dared the flood, had themselves to blame as their vehicles broke down in the flood, which found its way into some vehicles. Ikeja was worst hit by the flood, as many vehicles broke down, while the few that could wade through the flood had hectic time.
The ever-busy Opebi-Allen Road was taken over by the flood with some pedestrians, who defied the rain, almost drowned. A middle-aged woman, who attempted to pass through the flooded area at Awosika Bus Stop, had to be quickly helped out of the flood by some men.
While many shop owners could not open for business in some areas of Ikeja, owing to the heavy flooding, others were seen scooping water from their shops.
For more than two hours, motorists abandoned some portions of the roads, because of serious flooding while a resident, who claimed to have left his residence at Mile 2 at 7.30 a.m. for Idi-Araba near Mushin, arrived at 3 p.m.
The journey normally takes less than 45 minutes barring heavy traffic on the road. Commercial buses going to the eastern parts of the country hiked their fares by as high as 100 per cent for commuters who could not make it to the bus stops on time. A visit by the Nigerian Tribune to Jibowu, Yaba and Ojuelegba bus termini revealed that fares to Calabar, Enugu, Port-Hacourt, which hitherto were N4,000, N2,500, and N2,000 respectively went up to N5,000, N3,500, N3,000, depending on the owners of the mass transit buses.
Some stranded commuters described the development as totally unfair and unbearable, and some of them had to cancel their trips. But some of the drivers, who spoke to the Nigerian Tribune, said the increase was necessitated by the deplorable state of the Ore-Benin expressway.
Intra-city passengers also experienced an increase in fares, as a trip from Agege to Ikeja rose to N70 instead of N50 and Maryland, N80, from N30.