Many corps members were stranded after a heavy downpour brought a flood to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Secretariat in Surulere, Lagos State, on Thursday.
Some corps members who got to the secretariat for their Community Development Service (CDS) meetings on Thursday morning, were stranded in the secretariat and unable to leave as the flood quickly took over the secretariat.
Some corps members told FIJ that the flood reached the waist level of people considered tall. They said short corps members were warned not to wade in the water.
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While speaking to FIJ on Thursday, Miebaka Ibidun (not real name), a 2023 Batch C corps member, said that her plans were ruined as she had an appointment scheduled for 3 pm but was not sure she would make it as a result of the flood.
Inside the NYSC Secretariat in Lagos.
“The secretariat is flooded. I am still looking for a way out,” Ibidun told FIJ.
“I was supposed to just come and collect the new ID card and then go back for final clearance. Now I have to wait for extra hours, I am not even sure I will be able to meet final clearance. I had an appointment by 3 pm but now I have to cancel because I am not sure I can make it again,” she added.
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Adeyemi, another corps member, had to head back home after hearing about the flood. She was supposed to go to the secretariat to change her ID card for her final clearance. Fellow corps members had informed her that she would not be allowed to do her final clearance without it.
“I was just informed this morning that I would not be allowed to do my final clearance because the signature of the DG is no longer visible on my ID card and I have to go to the secretariat to change it,” said Adeyemi.
“I had left home and was on my way to the secretariat when other corps members told me not to bother coming because the place was flooded and they were also looking for means to leave.”
READ ALSO: ‘We Waited for Hours and No Bus Came’ — Lagos Residents Describe Flooding
The road outside the secretariat was also flooded, which made it difficult for corps members on their way to the secretariat to go in.
The road outside the secretariat.
Many Lagos communities face flooding during rainy season. Thursday was not the first issue of flooding in Lagos in recent times.
In July, FIJ reported how Lagos residents were stranded in their homes and bus stops. They were unable to commute to their various destinations as flooding took hold of the city overnight.
Editor’s Note: Corps members’ names were withheld because they were unauthorised to speak to the press.
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