Rain sweeps away a student on his way way home from school. In Ikosi, Lagos State’s Ketu district, a flood carried away a primary six student named Joshua. On Taiwo Street in Ikosi, Ketu, Lagos, the student and his friends were making their way home from school when the awful tragedy took place. The incident caused Joshua’s mother, a fruit vendor, to cry, rip out her hair, and mourn the death of her only child.
“Joshua died hungry and cold. He was in primary six; he was supposed to write his common entrance exam,” she said.
The mother, who was obviously upset, said she was living in a makeshift shelter after losing her house to fire. She begged for assistance from the public in finding her son, pledging to stop at nothing to win him back. Oloyede, a local youth leader and eyewitness, claimed to have seen kids in the rain and to have cautioned them. “Unfortunately, they fell into the drainage since the plank that was used to cross the canal was totally submerged in water.
“But unfortunately, the plank that was used to bridge the canal was completely covered by water, and they fell into the drainage.
“I managed to swim and rescue one of them, but unfortunately, Joshua was swept away by the heavy currents and died,” he said.
Speaking anonymously, a neighbourhood leader accused the government of abandoning a drainage channelling project, leaving the area vulnerable to flooding. The government began a drainage channelling project in January, but then withdrew it, leaving us with this incomplete project. The place fills with water every time it rains,” he remarked. Nosa Okunbor, the public relations officer for the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), stated he had not received any reports on the incident when he was reached. The Lagos police spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, did not answer calls, thus attempts to get in touch with him were unsuccessful.