I suppose the cheap cost of land would have left people with much funds to plan and build but most people rather prefer planning and celebrating parties than building well.

Every day, I see people throwing domestic waste into the poorly built drainage system, thereby blocking the passage. Industrial wastes also add to this menace.

Regrettably, it may be difficult to find any part of Ibadan that one can say is well planned. One is even more likely to see people moulding blocks and building houses with humus-filled soil sourced from the canals where both domestic and industrial waste are channelled, rather than (sharp) sand.

It is quite a pity that many innocent souls were lost during the recent torrential rain, and property worth millions of naira damaged, too. Surprisingly, storey buildings are built with minor beams and pillars, such that it was very easy for the floods to ground and wash them away as a number of them are located beside poorly constructed canals, which have been suffering environmental degradation.

Good a thing, Mr President recently saw the level of devastation caused by the natural disaster-as we call it, but it is actually man-made, given the intervening event of environmental irresponsibility. What can the Oyo state government do to check the rot? What kind of planning permit does the government issue people?

Do these houses actually have plans? If they do, do they get approval from appropriate authorities? People do not even realise the fact that buildings have expiry and need to be renovated periodically or even demolished for wholesale reconstruction, where necessary.

The claim that there is no maintenance culture in Nigeria is just unnatural and must be erased from the mentality of people because it is a bad culture developed by corrupt and undisciplined persons.

There is a saying in Igboland, Eastern Nigeria that “if evil lasts a year, it becomes a culture.” But the trend could be changed for good and for the better.

I would like to see the government begin a regeneration plan for the Oyo State Capital, Ibadan. But I am equally afraid; this would need a very strong political willpower, and cost a whole lot economically.

However, the choice is easy; life or death! Good public policy and policy responsibility on the part of government would help check this evil trend.
Matter-of-factly, people should look after their environments in order to prevent future catastrophic incidents.

Safety measures should be individualized, and environmental responsibility should be a collective one among government, individuals and the private sector in the interest of health and safety.