Flood sweeps away seven-year-old pupil in Ekiti

Olamide

The downpour in Ado Ekiti on Sunday evening left a trail of sorrow following the death of a primary one pupil, Olamide Ayeni, who was swept away by the flood.

Other residents of the town suffered massive destruction of property.

The rain which started around 8.15pm swept away Olamide who followed his elder sister, Faith, who was on an errand before the rain started.

Faith decided to defy the rain after waiting for it to subside for close to an hour.

The parents of the boy were said to have been relocated from their residence at 45, Dallimore Street, Ado Ekiti because of the trauma.

But an uncle of the deceased, Mr. Simeon Ayeni, who narrated how the incident happened, explained that Faith, aged 15, decided to return home. He added that Olamide, who was walking on the culvert, slipped and fell into the drainage and was swept away.

He said the culvert had been covered by flood and there was no way to see where a space had been created.

Ayeni said firefighters came and combed the area but their efforts to recover the boy was futile.

He said, “She was sent on an errand to the other side of the road before the rain started. Nobody knew Olamide followed her. They waited for the rain to subside and decided to come back.

“While they were coming, Olamide, in his attempt to cross the drainage channel which was covered by flood slipped and fell into the water. His sister struggled to rescue him but the current of the flood was too high. She raised the alarm and effort by sympathisers to rescue Olamide proved abortive.

“Faith came home and told us and we went in search of him but up till now we have not found him whether dead or alive.”

Our correspondent, who moved round Ado Ekiti, observed that the flood ravaged areas like Adebayo area, Old Garage, Emirin community, Adehun, Ureje, and many other parts of the town.

Meanwhile, Governor Kayode Fayemi has said that buildings erected on waterways and those without approvals from the Ekiti State Town Planning office will be demolished within the next two weeks.

The governor, who said this during an inspection of the havoc wreaked by the flood, said the demolition would give way to water channels to, prevent a possible reoccurrence of flooding in the future.

The governor said, “It is the duty of government to enforce the law. Even on an approved plan, there must be a setback. You have a certain metres that you must put between your house and the road. That has not been done in many of the places I visited today: Olorunda, Nova Road, Peace Avenue in Afao road and Oke Ila.

“We will make sure that adequate room is provided for the drains so that water can flow into wider channels, dredge the channels and ensure that water flows properly. Anyone who has built on a waterway or in a place that will not allow water to flow seamlessly should be ready to hear from me.”

PUNCH