Experts in the health and environment sectors have raised the alarm over a possible outbreak of cholera in Karu, one of the expanding communities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In this report, MOSES EMORINKEN captures the fears and apprehension of residents of the area.
In the recent past, there have been outbreaks of air and water-borne diseases around the country, especially in the Northeastern zone. The government, with the help of partners like the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), other partners in the health space, worked frantically to assuage the fatal consequences that these diseases bring in their wake.
To some extent, the spread of diseases like cholera, yellow fever, malaria, typhoid, Lassa fever etc., was curtailed. However, efforts still need to be revived and accentuated as some communities are beginning to see a reincarnation of some of these deadly diseases, more specifically, cholera.
Caused by a bacterium, cholera is a waterborne bacterial disease that is caused by ingesting contaminated water or food. It causes diarrhoea and dehydration, which may be deadly if not treated immediately. Safe and protected water sources and proper sanitation facilities are critical to prevent it from spreading.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Nigeria, with an overwhelming population of over 200 million people, was the worst-hit with 24,000 cases of cholera in 2018.
For some communities within the precinct of Nyanya/Karu in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the situation seems to be worsening, such that if efforts are not targeted at environmental interventions, we might as well have a major outbreak of cholera and other diseases.
In front of the Karu burial ground is a large expanse of land – desecrated and polluted with every form of human and domestic waste imaginable. You can hardly pass by without tightly closing your nostrils and mouth for fear of dear life because of the putrid stench from the dumpsite. This area has also become a convenient place for open defecation, as indigenes and strangers alike boldly take positions to let out their abdominal impurities.
Also fraternising heavily in the region are rodents of all kinds. Large herds of cattle can also be seen feasting on some side plants and other flora materials in the region, and also dropping their faecal wastes at will.
Worse, is that this dumpsite is located at the epicentre of a residential area, where some form of trading – buying and selling of consumables (food, water etc.) and non-consumables takes place.
Cleanliness, they say, is next to godliness. Surprisingly, not too far from the cesspool to the right and left are religious institutions – a Catholic church and a central mosque respectively; this calls for serious concern!
According to the Chairman, Coalition for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Accountability Mechanism (C4MAN), Dr. Ejike Orji, “Waste disposal is a major problem and there are two types of wastes – normal house wastes and the bio-hazardous waste that comes from hospitals.
“Bio-hazardous wastes are more dangerous. You can imagine if you had Ebola or Lassa fever patients’ dressing being disposed of indiscriminately; just one dressing can expose the entire community to serious health risks and threaten the whole state and even the country.
“Also, cholera is now endemic in the country because we keep hearing now and then of three to four states being affected by cholera outbreaks. How waste is disposed of is so key, especially when it is close to residential areas.”
Also, very frightening is the fact that a dirty, flowing stream beside the dumpsite is being fetched for drinking and cooking purposes by some villagers because of the challenge they have with access to clean and potable water.
Speaking with The Nation, the Madaki of Hausa, FCT, Alh. Ismaila Karu, said, “That place is our cemetery. People put their domestic waste there because they did not have any place to throw their wastes; over time it became a norm. The Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) has been helping to pack the refuse. However, their efforts seem inadequate.
“We don’t want that dumpsite there again. This is because my people have been recording cases of cholera and other sicknesses. Also, there is a small stream that passes beside the dumpsite, and some people in the villages drink and cook with this water. Cholera is on the rise in various communities connected to this dumpsite.
“We are pleading to the government to help stop the dumping of refuse at that place. If they are going to provide another and a safer place, that will be better for the community. Whenever the huge pile of refuse is set on fire, the people living close to it are left to inhale the dangerous smoke. We fear that some people might even develop cancer from these unhealthy environmental activities.”
Also speaking with our reporter, the President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Francis Faduyile, explained that the increasing rate of outbreaks of diseases, especially cholera is a result of the gross ineptitude of the government to enforce extant environmental laws.
“In civilised countries, you have areas where you put the recyclable wastes and another place for non-recyclables to destroy. In Nigeria, we don’t seem to care much about it. All we have is a makeshift dumping system.
“We need a proper policy on the environment; even if there are existing policies, they are not enforcing them because we are not seeing concerted efforts on the part of the government and its agencies to see that all these are avoided.
“Government needs to ensure that the canals are flowing and not blocked, and ensure that there is proper disposal of wastes. We also need to educate our people about the benefits of a clean and beautiful environment,” he said.
Help on the way?
This month, the Federal Government launched a national ‘one health strategic plan’ aimed at integrating human, animal and environmental health management for improved health security.
The plan, which was jointly developed by the Federal Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), and Environment as well as their agencies, will be implemented over five years (2018 – 2023).
How far this plan will go in addressing the problem will largely depend on the government’s sincere commitment to the health and safety of the environment.
Speaking with The Nation, the Director of Environment of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Mr. Ahmed Haruna, revealed that the area council has partnered a private waste disposal firm called Famous Legend Limited, to evacuate and properly dispose of wastes in areas like Nyanya, Karu and Jikwoyi.
According to him, “We plan to completely evacuate the wastes in the Karu village area by February next year so that we can always service the site once in a month. The company just started three months ago. We also plan to expand their operations up to Karshi overtime.”
Talking about the illegal activities of local truck pushers (popularly called baba bola), who go about disposing of domestic wastes, Mr. Haruna said the effectiveness of the new partnership with the waste disposal firm will naturally fade them out.
“If this partnership is very effective, people will not patronise the local, unregistered and untrained waste disposers; it is because people are patronising them, that is why they are working. We only need a strong political commitment to ensure that our partner company works effectively next year so that the baba bola fades out naturally.
“If not for some lapses in the area council, the collection of wastes ought to be weekly. We usually evacuate wastes from the Karu village dumpsite to Karshi where we have our dumpsite.
“We will also fence the boundaries of the waste site and put the sign of ‘no dumping of wastes here’, to restrict further dumping of wastes by local and unregistered wastes disposers,” he said.
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He added further: “Drinking water from dirty sources besides the dumpsite is not healthy and I have just been informed that some members of the community cook with and drink from the water. After the Christmas break, I will go there to see the place so we can recommend that the council provides two or three boreholes in those villages.”
The immediate past Public Relations Officer of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), Alhaji Muktari Ibrahim, said: “When I was in AEPB, we sometimes carried out some form of intervention exercises to those areas covered by area councils. Sometimes, if the situation is getting out of hand, we cannot just leave intervention to the area council; that is why the AEPB carries out interventions from time to time.
“In 2017, the FCT administration banned the baba bola from the city and confined their operations to the satellite towns. The illegal and untrained waste disposers are the ones going beyond their boundaries of scavenging to waste disposal.
“There is a law under the AEPB Act of 1997 that stipulates punishment for anyone who engages in indiscriminate waste disposal, especially if they are not registered with AEPB. Area councils also have such laws because they have an environmental department.”
Residents react
According to Muhammed Suraju, a resident of the Karu village, “this refuse being dropped by the baba bola is disturbing us because diseases like cholera, malaria and so on are disturbing our children. The smell from the refuse is very disturbing and the gutter system is terrible.
“That is why we are begging the government to do something about it because our children are falling ill due to infections from the dumpsite. Mosquitoes, rats and other rodents are having a field day in our community.
“We are more scared of the rainy season because, during this time, the gutter gets filled with the debris and wastes, thereby blocking the flow of water. The rainwater eventually starts finding its way into the homes of people in the area, causing devastating destructions and loss of properties.”
The traditional head of Karu/Nyanya and environs of the Ebira traditional council, Alhaji Momoh Lawal, who spoke with The Nation, said: “The whole community is suffering from the smell and diseases from the dumpsite. As long as the dumpsite is there and not properly managed, we will not be free from cholera, malaria and other diseases.
“We are pleading with the state and local government to put more efforts in evacuating these refuse because our people – adult and children, are not safe. The government needs to relocate the dumpsite to another area far from people’s homes, where it can be properly monitored and managed.
“We are also facing a lot of water problems in this community. Most times, we are forced to buy water that is not clean from local truck pushers. We need help in the provision of clean and potable water.”
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