Residents lament as downpour wreaks havoc in Osun
Abimbola Abatta, Osogbo
Residents of Osun have bemoaned their losses as property worth millions of naira were, on Tuesday, destroyed by a downpour.
The 3-hour long downpour, which started around 8pm and lasted till around 11pm, affected different parts of Osogbo, the state capital.
The flood reportedly sacked residents of several areas from their houses.
Some of the affected areas, Onireke, Obate, Awosuru, Sadiat, Testing Ground, Atimowa in Osogbo were counting losses as shops were flooded.
Businesses such as Cement shops, Flour shops, Pharmacy, Gas station, Bakery, Boutiques and provisions stores as well as churches were affected while residential houses were destroyed.
In their reactions, some of the affected business owners sought government intervention.
A shop owner at Onireke area, Ishola Mutiu who sells electronics said the rain started around 8 p.m., “I was in my shop when the rain started but I don’t know it’s going to be like that. The flood took over everywhere, it was God’s intervention that saved all of us here.”
While estimating his loss, Mutiu said the items destroyed in his shop were around N5 million.
Residents of the area told Nigerian NewsDirect that residents could not sleep in their various houses as they ran for safety on Tuesday night.
A shop owner at Obate area, Alhaji Agboola Owoniyi who sells Cement said the rain was too heavy. Hence they could not take anything from the shop.
“The flood took over this upstairs and this road. I just stock my shop, the water affected some of the cement worth about N400,000.”
Another businesswoman who sells bags of rice and groundnut oil, Ogunyemi Jumoke, who was in tears told our correspondent that she could not estimate her losses at the moment and asked the government for intervention.
“There is no hope for me. My tools have been damaged by water while my shop has also collapsed. Some of the beauty items that I am selling have been washed away by the flood. I beg the government to show mercy on us here,” a hairdresser, Sanusi Kafayat cried out.
