The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has threatened to demolish houses built on or obstructing designated water channels.
Mr Wike spoke on Tuesday after inspecting flood-affected areas in Maitama, Abuja, where he argued that the structures are contributing to flooding in the Nigerian capital and must be removed to restore proper drainage.
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His remarks came after some parts of Abuja were flooded following a heavy rain on Saturday. Residents of Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Lokogoma and some other areas were caught up in the flood while many cars were submerged by the flood.
The flooding validated the prediction made by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET), which warned that FCT and seven other states are prone to flash floods.
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Some Nigerians called out Mr Wike following the Saturday floods, with some accusing him of allocating lands to politicians who erected buildings on waterways.
But in his comments, Mr Wike said the affected structures were not recently built.
“Those houses are not houses that were built last week,” he said. “Those houses have been there for 10 years, eight years ago.”
Demolition threat
In his comments, Mr Wike acknowledged that some residents, including “senators”, had blocked water channels with their buildings, a situation he said defied the Abuja master plan.
“Unfortunately, we have gone there, and we have seen how people have blocked channels,” he said.
According to him, previous warnings that the consequences of obstructing waterways might not be immediate should not be interpreted to mean that there would be no consequences.
“I have told people that nothing happened yesterday… does not mean that something will not happen today,” he said. “That it did not happen today does not mean it will not happen tomorrow.”
The minister said the recent flooding had exposed the seriousness of the problem and prompted authorities to take action against structures obstructing waterways.
“Now, you have done your own by blocking the water channel, and nothing has happened,” he continued. “Thank God the flood has come. You have drawn our attention to the place. Now something will happen.”
Mr Wike vowed that houses found on water channels would be demolished.
According to him, any house found on waterways “will go down” starting from Tuesday to Saturday.
He said the enforcement would continue regardless of the electoral calendar.
ALSO READ: Two dead as floods devastate homes, infrastructure in Abuja community
“Oh, why is he doing this during period of election? That is the next campaign you will see now. Stop him. Let us finish election,” he said.
“Whether there’s election, there’s no election, all those houses will go down,” he reaffirmed. “Heaven will not fall. Rather, heaven will get peace that the right thing has been done.”
Other causes of Flooding
The minister added that flooding could be attributed to climate change and human activities.
“A flood could be a natural disaster,” he said, citing incidents in “Dubai, the US and the UK.”
“We are in a climate change period; the kind of rains we have experienced, or we are experiencing now, we have not experienced before. But that is not to say that there are no man-made factors. There are,” he said.
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