Workers lament persistent rainfall causing gridlock, flooding in Lagos

Topnaija.ng reports that the continuos heavy rainfall in Lagos has caused significant gridlock and flooding in many parts of the city, leading to frustration among residents and workers.

This online news platform learnt that the heavy downpour has not only disrupted transportation but has also resulted in a hike in transport fares, adding to the economic hardship faced by many.

Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Oluwaseun Olatunbosun, a resident of Alimosho who works for Fibrenet in Ikeja, shared his experience: “Every time it rains, transport fares increase. It’s becoming a common problem during the rainy season in Lagos, making daily commutes and business activities more challenging.”

The ongoing rainfall and its impacts highlight the need for improved infrastructure and drainage systems to better manage the city’s seasonal weather patterns.

“If there is no rain, I spend like N1,000 from my house around Orisunbare to Ikeja, where my office is, but I spend well over N1,000 during the rainy season. As it is now, the traffic is heavy and I am sure there will be an increase in the fare as I am going to the office,” he said.

Further speaking, Favour Blessing, who lives around Ilepo in Abule Egba and works in a Spar in Ikeja, said the fare to her office usually was between N600 and N800 if there was no rain.

“Right now with the rain, the fare could be between N1,000 and N1,400. It is worrisome because of the economic situation in the country. Sometimes I don’t even go to work because of the hike in fare when it rains,” she said.

A schoolteacher, Juliet Okonkwo, said most students come late to school during the rainy season.

Okonkwo added that the rain affects not only the students but also the teachers.

“We have to make our way to work even with the gridlock because we have a responsibility to the kids,” she said.

Another Lagos worker, an architect, Shola Ayodele, said work was always slow during rainy seasons.

He added that the rainy season affected his site engineers because they hardly came to work, blaming their absence for the fare hike.

In the same veins, some Lagosians have taken to X formerly known as Twitter expressing their anger on the state of the “mega city’, Topnaija captured some tweets, see below;

https://x.com/chude__/status/1808456142185521244

https://x.com/TheDamiForeign/status/1808460610390085709

https://x.com/eonsintelligenc/status/1808433403512910282