The Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAM) has urged Lagosians to stop patronising cart pushers because “those who prefer the cart pushers are enemies of progress.”
AWAM enjoined the Lagos State Government to bring back sanitary inspectors to ensure a clean environment.
At a press briefing yesterday to celebrate the World Environment Day, AWAM Chairman Olabode Coker condemned those who refuse to make use of the Private Sector Partnership (PSP) of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) to dispose their wastes.
By patronising cart pushers, who empty their trucks in the closest possible drainage or in uncompleted buildings, such people are causing more harm to the environment, Coker said.
He said: “Those who prefer the cart pushers are enemies of progress. The cart pushers collect their money on the spot, look for the closest place to dump the refuse, which could be in an uncompleted building, in drainages or on the highway. They are causing more danger to us as members of the society. Looking at it critically, would it be possible for the cart pushers to carry waste from Abule Egba or Ijaiye and trip it to Igando to dump?
“Several years ago in Lagos, we had health officers in local governments popularly called wole wole. Those days, when you see them in your compounds, you would shiver. We have been calling on the government to make sure that the sanitary officers at the local governments are brought back for effectiveness and they may be supplemented by officers of the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI). People are already informed but we need enforcers to make them active. Some people put their wastes in the boots of their cars when they are leaving their homes in the mornings and dispose it on their way out. By the time, three or four of them are caught and brought to book, these practices would stop.”
Coker praised the government for partnering with the private sector to ensure a cleaner Lagos, saying the partnership has brought about a cleaner city, improved the health of Lagosians, created Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for waste managers, promoted investments and created jobs for over 25,000 people.
He noted that the waste management operators were facing challenges because of Lagosians’ poor sanitation practices, poor payment for services and overfilled dumpsites.
“By this time, we should not be talking about dumpsites; we should be talking about land-free sites. A land-free site is a mechanically-driven dumpsite. You don’t just go there and dump, the wastes are mechanically wheeled out. Most of the dumpsites are partially filled up and this is affecting our trucks because most times, caterpillars are used to pull the trucks out”, Coker said.
A waste manager, Julie Don-Adinuba, Allied Waste Industries Limited Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our sanitary practices are appalling and I always wonder why we do what we do here but when we get abroad, we comply with the rules there. Whenever I see people throwing anything from their cars, if I am opportune to stop, I would stop and caution them. If I see any man urinating on the road, I stop to let them know that is not a toilet.
“It can be frustrating at times but because I have developed a passion for it. I believe we would do it even if it takes us so long. One day, we would be like all the other developed countries. That is my motivation. It is not impossible and I have stopped giving a time frame. When I started nine years ago, I thought that within six months, we would get there but now, I believe we should take it one step at a time and create awareness for the people to have better sanitary practices. There are a lot of things out of our control but we just have to go on. We cannot abandon our people because all the good you do would come back to you and vice versa.”
