Residents of Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, traded blames on Tuesday following massive floods that ravaged different parts of the city centre.
The floods, which resulted from an early morning downpour, shut down the city and left many residents stranded and business places submerged.
Some highbrow areas like the GRA, Odili Road, Azikiwe Street in front of the Government House, Diobu, Ogbunabali Road, Rumuola Flyover and many other areas were flooded and impassable.
The ravaging flood pulled down the fence of the Hospital Management Board in Diobu and took over the base of Spar, a popular shopping mall close to the Government House.
Vehicles were submerged and abandoned by their owners, who made desperate efforts to escape to safety.
While some blamed resurgence of flood in the capital city on the government, others absolved the government of any blame saying residents’ irresponsible lifestyle caused the disaster.
A resident, Sledge Mceee, said the irresponsible acts of blocking the drainage with refuse and other materials by residents led to the frequent flooding of the capital city.
He said: “Rivers State Government does not construct road without proper drainage. The inland canals, larger deeper collector drains and inspection chambers are constantly serviced. Periodically we experience flooding in some parts of the city like today. The reason is simple.
“Citizens have refused to be responsible. We convert drainage to our trash can that we dump refuse at will, but we don’t hesitate to cry at the government when being visited by flood that we unwittingly invited by our callous behaviour.
“If the government of Nyesom Wike decides to set up a taskforce to tackle this ugly practice by apprehending and prosecuting defaulters, the same people blaming the state government now would start saying the only thing Wike knows is taskforce.
“Most of us the citizens are culpable because the present administration has done so much in this regard, but we have refused to play our own part well “.
Another resident, Nma Wechie, said residents should blame themselves for their ordeal saying most people deliberately threw their refuse in drainage during rainfall.
She said: “Everyone’s blaming the government for waste management and flood. But people drop stuffs on the road thoughtlessly and see the rains as an opportunity to dispose of their waste.
“If people bagged their dirt, and kept it like sane people, the flood might not be such a prominent factor in this environment. Nothing stops the flow of water except a blockage.
“Check out the markets, rainy days are their waste disposal days. But it would be totally irrational to leave the government out of this blame. Utility bills are shared house to house.
“What happens to the ministry in charge of health and sanitation, sharing bin bags weekly or monthly, making sure there are people who are solely responsible for these duties. This could create employment, indirectly and directly”.
Also, Robert Goka, said 80 per cent of the floods were caused by indiscriminate dumping of dirt inside drainage, sandfilling of major canals in PH, lack of terminal point of drainage outlets.
Another resident, Moi Opuirobo, said both the government and residents were culpable for the ongoing floods in the capital city.
He said: “Both the government and citizens are culpable. Even if the government clears the drainages today, our attitude to wastes especially non-degradables is really appalling and in no time we’d find ourselves back in square one. We need a mindset shift.
“Besides the Nigerian metrological agency has been screaming since February that 29 states will be flooded this year with Rivers inclusive and nothing was done especially from the government. This is where I hold them accountable, but the citizens have major roles to play”.
