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Residents appeal for support as downpour destroys properties worth millions of naira in Osun
By Sunday Oguntuyi, Osogbo
A heavy downpour in Osogbo, the state capital of Osun on Tuesday destroyed properties worth millions of naira, rendering some residents homeless.
The downpour which lasted for about 3 hours, started around 8 pm and lasted till around 11 pm.
Affected areas are: Onireke, Obate, Awosuru, Sadiat, Testing Ground, Atimowa in Osogbo.
Businesses dealing in cement, flour, pharmacy, gas stations, bakeries, boutiques and provisions stores were most affected, including churches.
Residential houses were also destroyed, as the flood reportedly sacked some residents of the areas from their houses.
Some of the affected business persons who spoke with this medium begged the government for intervention.
A shop owner at the Onireke area, Ishola Mutiu who sells electronics, said, “I was in my shop when the rain started but I didn’t know it was going to be like this.
“The flood took over everywhere, it was God’s intervention that saved all of us here.”
While estimating his loss, Mutiu said items destroyed in his shop were worth around N5 million.
Residents of the area told Daily Post that they 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 bags of 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 loss at the moment and begged for government’s intervention.
Also affected is Sanusi Kafayat, a hairdresser who said the rain destroyed all her tools.
“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,” she lamented.