Inside Isale Eko are two worlds. One houses Ilubirin, an ongoing housing project that lies on the bank of the lagoon and is located off the Third Mainland Bridge. The construction of this housing project commenced when Babatunde Fashola was the governor of Lagos State but has yet to be completed

In another world is Jankara, a market in Isale Eko, Lagos Island, notable for the sales of locally made fabrics, second-hand clothes and accessories, among others.

Come rain or shine, the streets of this market are always flooded. Traders, buyers, residents who live around and students whose schools are near the market have to cross pools of stagnant water to move from one end of the market to another.

A passer-by in Jankara

These pools of stagnant water are deep and almost reach the knees of passers-by, making it impossible to move around without getting wet. Seeing an avenue to make money from the flooded streets, some people rent rain boots to passersby for N200.

Rain boots for rent in Jankara

Some passersby in rain boots in Jankara

Passersby also have other alternatives to renting rain boots. One is paying N100 to be piggy-backed across the pool of stagnant water. Passers-by who can’t afford to rent rain boots or be piggy-backed have to dip their feet into the pools of stagnant water to move around the market.

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A passer-by piggybacked across a pool of stagnant water

Most of those who fall into this category are students whose schools are around Odo Giwa and Oroyinyin streets in Jankara. This reporter counted three schools around Jankara. All three are owned by the Lagos State Government.

Isale Eko Secondary School, one of the schools around Jankara.

Some schoolchildren in Jankara

The streets are not the only places haunted by stagnant water. The stagnant water also seeps into some traders’ shops, forcing them out of their shops onto their verandahs.

READ ALSO: ‘We Waited for Hours and No Bus Came’ — Lagos Residents Describe Flooding

One such trader is Mike Olanrewaju, who sells wall clocks in Jankara Market and has been there since 1999.

When EQ visited Jankara Market, Olanrewaju sat on a stool outside his shop. Displayed wall clocks adorned his shop’s verandah. This shop, although flooded, housed wall clocks displayed on a wooden wall.

Olanrewaju’s shop in Odo Giwa Strret, Jankara Market

He told EQ that the pools of stagnant water had been troubling traders and buyers in the market for almost a decade. He also said it resulted from the lack of maintenance of drainage channels around Jankara.

Passers-by helping each other across a pool of stagnant water in Jankara

“This started during Tinubu’s second tenure as Lagos governor. When Tinubu was governor, the underground drainage channels were last maintained. There has been no follow-up since. Before, the drainage channels were above the ground; people used to clean them, but we can no longer do that because they are underground,” Olanrewaju told EQ.

A HOUSING PROJECT ON THE BANK OF THE LAGOON

Olanrewaju and other traders blamed Ilubirin for the floods that plague the market.

Upon EQ’s visit to Ilubirin, this reporter discovered a part of the lagoon was sand-filled to construct Ilubirin. The housing project can be seen on the lagoon’s bank from the top of the Third Mainland Bridge.

Ilubirin

The traders EQ spoke with at Jankara Market told this reporter that their drainage systems were meant to channel water from the market and environs into the lagoon but since a part of the lagoon was sand-filled, the drainage channels could no longer drain out water appropriately.

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Ongoing housing construction in Ilubirin

Abdulazeez Fasasi, a civil engineer with knowledge of drainage systems, also confirmed this.

“The ongoing housing project construction on the lagoon bank may be causing water to build up and flood the nearby areas. It is also changing the way water usually drains. So, instead of flowing into the lagoon, it is now flooding towards the homes and streets of the community,” he said.

“Also, the construction project may not have adequately addressed drainage planning, leading to unintended consequences like flooding in the nearby community,” said Fasasi.

EQ also learned that Jankara and some other parts of Lagos Island are lowlands, affecting water flow into the lagoon.

COUNTLESS FAILED PROMISES

The Lagos State Government is aware of the flood in Jankara Market but has yet to find a solution that will stand the test of time.

Babatunde (not real name), another trader, told EQ that Babajide Sanwo Olu, the state governor, visited the market and other areas plagued by perennial floods in Lagos Island in 2023.

“We have reported the case to the government countless times. Sanwo-Olu visited the market last year and said he was disappointed by the state of the market,” said Babatunde.

In a tweet posted after his visit to the market, the governor blamed the flood in Jankara and other areas on the indiscriminate dumping of refuse, abuse of drainages and illegal construction of shops and market stalls by some residents.

As part of our administration’s plan for the regeneration of Lagos Island, I went on an on-site inspection of some areas in that axis that were affected by floods. I visited Jankara, Ojo Giwa, Oroyiyin, Idumagbo and Pelewura market respectively.What was sadly visible during… pic.twitter.com/kYfSpQUyeR— Babajide Sanwo-Olu (@jidesanwoolu) October 8, 2023

He also gave a one-week quit notice to traders whose shops contributed to the flood. It has been nine months since this quit notice was given, but the flood persists.

Also, Sanwo-Olu’s administration has been promising the construction and completion of the Ilubirin drainage system, also referred to as the Ilubirin Mega Pumping Station, which will channel water in Jankara and other affected parts of Lagos Island, where flooding has been troubling residents, since 2022.

In August 2022, the government said that the drainage system was 60–65% completed.

Again, Nurudeen Shodeinde, the permanent secretary at the office of Drainage Services and Water Resources, assured residents in May 2023 that the Ilubrin Mega Pumping Station would be ready in July 2023.

A year after these promises, the mega pumping station has yet to be commissioned.

EQ also learned that Tokunbo Wahab, the Lagos State Commissioner for Environment, is aware of the stagnant water pools in Jankara.

In June, Wahab commented under @OHS-VENTURES’ tweets on X about the deplorable condition of the streets of Jankara Market.

Noted for action. Thank you— Tokunbo Wahab (@tokunbo_wahab) June 2, 2024

AFFECTING BUSINESSES, TRADERS‘ HEALTH

The pools of stagnant water in Jankara affect the health of traders and thriving businesses.

Babatunde told EQ that he had battled malaria many times and that his doctor had advised him to stop consuming food and water sold in the market.

“I treat malaria too often. My doctor has also warned me to stop buying food and water from here. I now bring bottles of water from my home,” he said.

Olanrewaju also said that many traders who did business in the market had fallen ill over time but would usually keep it to themselves.

“There are so many insects and worms because of the stagnant water. It is only God who is protecting us. Many people have fallen ill and are just keeping their illness to themselves. There is nothing they can do about it,” he lamented.

Corroborating the statements made by both traders, Idowu Winner, a medical doctor, told EQ that stagnant water breeds mosquitoes and a place like Jankara will definitely be a breeding ground for mosquitoes, which cause malaria.

Winner also told EQ that malaria is not the only illness to be concerned about in Jankara.

“The stagnant water can also cause skin reactions and infections, such as bacteria and other skin infections. It could also be the cause and propagation of the recent cholera outbreak in Lagos, especially if it is a market where people are frequent patronizers of street food vendors,” said Winner.

True to Winner’s words, EQ saw food vendors selling food and people patronising them right in the middle of the water.

A female food vendor in Jankara.

EQ emailed the Lagos State Ministry of Health on Monday. The ministry acknowledged receipt of the email but did not provide answers to the questions.
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