BBC Pidgin of Monday, 17 October 2022

Source: BBC

How flood take over school for Lagos community

Di wooden bridge Di wooden bridge

Community primary school na popular school for di Itowolo Ikorodu axis of Lagos state southwest of Nigeria, most residents of di area dey send dia pikins to di school. But di school na victim of yearly flooding wey dey lead to closure of di school evri year. Wen di floods come, di school children and dia teachers dey waka through di flood water into dia classrooms and do same wen dem close in di afternoon. Di water no dey enter di classrooms. Wen di flood water increase, di teachers go direct di school kids to stay home until di floods dry. Since September dis year, flood take over di school, but dis di head teacher and community decide to find solution to di problem. Di wooden bridge Tori be say di school don make efforts plenti times to get help from goment so di flood no go dey disrupt dia academic activities, but goment no do anytin year in year out. Di school leadership approach di community leadership wey bring money for di construction of di wooden partial bridge. Though e dey like solution don come, but di kids and dia teachers still dey at risk of falling into di flood water wen dem dey pass di bridge. Anoda one be say both di school kids and dia Itowolo community dey at risk of diseases wey dirty water dey carri up and down. Lagos Sate Commissioner for Education, Folasade Adefisayo no gree comment on di mata give BBC Pidgin say, "I dey in charge of 1,700 schools for di state". Grass dey grow inside di flood and e dey possible say dangerous animals fit hide inside dia. Pa Dosunmu wey don live for di area for over one decade say di flood don become part of di community and dey cause major damage to property dia. "We need goment intervention as dis one big pass wetin we fit handle" na so e tok. Anoda resident of di area Mama Dotun say di flood dey make dem spend moni on local canoe to access dia houses as flood don take over di internal roads. She say "di tin dey affect our business, pipo no dey patronise us like before, if dem dey come back from work dem go buy wetin dem need, enter boat straight to dia house, dem no dey stop over to buy from us". Apart from di goment school, di flood also affect nearby private schools, worship centres, local shops and all internal roads. Wen our reporter visit di location, e notice say pipo for di area dey use local canoe to access dia houses. Many pipo lift dia property to higher levels inside dia houses. Some lift dia foams ontop oda properties and still dey sleep dia. Some of dem tell BBC Pidgin say dem no wan raise di matter again wit goment sake of say di last time dem do like that, goment ask dem to move away from di area, so dem no wan comot di area as di area na dia ancestral home. Around 90,000 Nigerian homes don dey submerged as a result of flooding for 27 of di kontri 36 states. Di floods don kill around 500 pipo and 1.4m dey displaced, according to wetin authorities tok. Matthias Schmale, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, say: "We dey currently see di worst floods in ten years for Nigeria."