Tackling Benin's flooding

AllAfrica.com via the Vanguard (Nigeria): Two heavy downpours, a Saturday evening, a month ago, brought Benin City to a standstill…Each time it rains, the busiest road in Edo State transforms into a water trough until hours later, or days after, depending on the intensity of the rain.

Before the construction of the Benin Bypass, Lagos Street bore all the heavy traffic from the East, Niger Delta, North, and Western Nigeria through Benin City. The place of Benin City as a road transport hub reflects in the large number of transportation companies owned by Benin-based business people. If not for the bypass, the rain of the day in question would have grounded movement in all direction for hours.

It is one of the mysteries of Nigeria that in its 46 years as the capital of the Mid-Western Region, Mid-Western State, Bendel State and much later, Edo State, Benin City, has degenerated in the quality of its infrastructure, while newer state capitals without its pedigree flaunt better roads and municipal services.

Of particular note is the neglect of the trunk road that goes through it which is also one of the most flooded parts of the city. Partly, because of this neglect, Benin City has joined the unenviable club of erosion-prone areas of the state and country at large. Lack of drainage forces excessive amount of water to seep into the ground and soften it for erosion….

Seen on the Ring Road in Benin City, shot by Jaymz Height-Field, Wikimedia Commons, under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation