In size, it has no rival. In beauty, only a few can compare. Gwarinpa Estate is to Abuja what the famous Festac Estate is to Lagos.
It is a mega housing estate, boasting some of the most enchantingly designed houses. It was designed and built by the government of the late General Sani Abacha.
The estate, many agree, is the largest housing estate in West Africa. It is also the largest of its kind in Nigeria. It sits on an expanse of land measuring about 1090 hectares with seven residential areas marked by avenues. It is no doubt the home for the well-to-do in Abuja. They all converge here seeking to establish a niche of their own within this vast area of habitation.
Gwarinpa, apart from the masterpiece in designs and architecture, boasts of beautiful road networks. The roads within the estate are linked together, making it accessible for vehicular movement. All these features make the estate a notch above other residential areas in Abuja, except a few like Maitama and Asokoro.
But an estate, which was once the toast of many residents of Abuja is gradually declining into a cesspit, thanks in part to the neglect of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) which is supposed to ensure that the estate remains clean by getting rid of its waste.
In May this year, residents of the once beautiful estate accused the Abuja administration of failing in its duties to ensure prompt and regular waste disposal, thereby causing health hazards. The residents said that the infrequent disposal of waste by the AEPB posed health hazards to them, adding that they are beginning to find heaps of waste littering the major roads disgusting and annoying.
However, of all the residential avenues within the estate, 1st, 2nd and 3rd avenues are quite notorious for indiscriminate dumping of waste. This is because they are high activity areas with markets, commercial outlets and villages.
When Abuja Review visited some of the avenues in the estate, heaps of waste were visible. The ever- busy 3rd Avenue was the most abused. Heaps of garbage littered the estate. When our correspondent asked why the place was littered with refuse, some of the residents said that the board had shown “laxity” in carrying out its duty for some time now.
A resident civil servant who pleaded anonymity, explained that most times, waste remained in front of his house for days. The resulting odour, he says, pervades the environment. This, he says, ensures that some of them who reside in that environment do not spend time outside in the evening.
He called on the board to be more serious and committed in the discharge of its duties, stressing that the absence of an efficient waste disposal strategy posed a threat to human life.
Jibran, a businessman and resident of 1st avenue disclosed that it is saddening to see that waste lay unattended for long periods around the estate.
According to him, “This is not acceptable. There are people in charge of disposing this waste. Anytime I pass round some areas in the estate, I see waste by the road side.”
Jibran called on the board to assist in keeping the environment clean by assigning a monitoring unit to always move round to ensure proper waste disposal.
A housewife in 2nd avenue who gave her name as Sarah, explained that people bring out waste from their homes on daily basis, which if not properly disposed, would continue to pile up.
She said it was unhealthy for waste to pile up in residential areas for days. She advised that the relevant authorities be alive to their responsibilities so that the environment could remain clean and habitable.
Corroborating the existence of indisposed waste in the estate, as a long practice, Gboyega, a former resident of the estate and a journalist with a radio station in Abuja, explained that the estate, for a period of time, was littered with heap of waste, adding that 3rd avenue was the most abused in terms of indisposed waste.
”I stayed there for two years (2010 – 2012). During that period, trucks that came to collect waste came once in a week at least to pick people’s wastes they put in front of their gates. It was easy for those that stayed in 3rd avenue to drop their wastes in black leather bags or plastic bins. It will remain for days before they will come and pack it. Imagine the heap of dirt that would have gathered before another week.
”For those that stayed around 3rd Avenue village, the case was different. Most of the residents dumped their waste by the road side for AEPB to come and pack. It normally blocks the gutter. In fact, for a long time, the gutters (drainages) were not working because of blockage, due to indiscriminate dumping of waste by the road side.”
Another resident of the estate who gave his name as Segun called for a campaign by AEPB against the indiscriminate dumping of waste by residents. He observed that dumping of waste in the estate was an abuse of the environment. “It is something we all have to work together to curtail. A good campaign on indiscriminate dumping of waste for residents of the estate will go a long way to reduce the problem. There is need for residents to know the implications of abusing the environment.”
Explaining the effects or dangers indisposed waste pose to human health, an Abuja base Radiologist, Dr. Augustine Ogah, explained that indisposed waste, when they decompose, release bacteria and parasite that cause diarrhoea, worm infection, typhoid and skin diseases. According to him, “when flies, rodents and cockroach come in contact with waste, they transmit diarrhoea diseases.”
Reacting to the accusation of laxity by the board in performing its duties within the estate, the Head, Information and Outreach Programme of the board, Joe Ukairo, blamed the problem of waste in the state on lack of adequate waste bins in homes and commercial premises.
He accused the residents of dumping their wastes on the ground instead of using the waste bins made available by the administration.
He said: “Gwarinpa is quite large and we have two contractors handling the area. The major challenge in Gwarinpa district is lack of adequate waste bins in homes and commercial premises in that estate. Where there are no waste bins or the available ones are inadequate to containerise waste from the point of generation, litters and floor dumps cannot be avoided. So the first step towards a sustainable waste management is proper containerization; this is in line with global best practices.
“The contractors collect waste from homes at least twice in a week and this is good enough. Where the waste bins are available and adequate, once a week collection will not be too bad.
”But what we have observed especially in Gwarinpa and other locations with blocks of flats is that they dump their waste on bare ground or into a “make shift” waste receptacle that fills up in less than 24 hrs giving rise to litters, floor dumps and unsightly/ unhealthy conditions. The contractors are working but before they can come back for the second routine in a week, the waste receptacles are overflowing because they are inadequate.
“Our people are wonderful. However, people’s attitude towards environment sustainability is very poor. Majority of the residents do not pay the bills for the services rendered; knowing full well that the services come with a cost. Some cannot even lift a finger to take charge of their immediate environment which is their sole responsibility. They will wait for government to do everything for them which is not possible. The number one challenge we face as an agency in the discharge of our duty is negative attitude of people towards the environment.
”AEPB in her effort to right this wrong has begun the dust bin enforcement programme. In the past two months, we have been working in Gwarinpa through the mobile court to deal with defaulters accordingly. Firstly, abatement notices are served on erring households or business premises to procure required number of waste bin(s) within a specified time. At the expiration of given time, the team will go back for compliance monitoring. Where there is compliance it becomes a win – win situation but where the defaulters did not comply, a mobile court will be set in motion to prosecute the defaulters.”
