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Tag: Olusosun

  • Olusosun, Solous dumpsites to be shut December

    Olusosun, Solous dumpsites to be shut December

    The process of shutting down Olusosun and Solous dumpsites will start in December, Managing Director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Muyiwa Gbadegesin, has said.

    The dumpsites will give way to renewable energy stations, and the project will last 18 months.

    Gbadegesin stated this at a one-day stakeholders ’ forum on Sustainable Waste Management in Lagos State, held at the Civic Centre in Victoria Island.

    Gbadegesin restated LAWMA’s commitment to creating a cleaner Lagos through collaboration with stakeholders for a sustainable environment.

     He said: “We recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)with ZoomLion, a Ghanaian company, to establish material recovery facilities. Even before that, they are going to cover the Olusosun and Solous landfills within the next 18 months. It will be covered with Geotextiles, after which solar panels will be placed on it, and then transfer loading stations will be built on it – one at Solous and another at Olusosun, so that we can take the waste in trailers to material recovery facilities that will be constructed in Ikorodu and Badagry.

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    “The recovery facilities look like factories, you won’t see the waste but the bulk waste can then be converted into various other things such as metals and plastics.

    “That is the plan, we do not want waste on the streets of Lagos, and we no longer want dumpsites, we want material recovery facilities.”

    The LAWMA boss also said the stakeholders’ forum is to incorporate the stakeholders to embrace the government’s ‘adopt-a-bin’ initiative, and to support its environmental revolution strides towards creating wealth and ensuring a cleaner environment.

    He added that the state, at the moment, only recycles eight per cent of the recyclable materials, while hoping to increase the efforts to over 20 per cent in the next three years.

    “We have introduced a two-bin programme which means that every household and business should have a minimum of two bins, one for organic/ general waste, and another for dry recyclables like plastics, paper and metals,” he added.

    Executive Director of  LAWMA Kunle Adebiyi said solid waste management has been a pressing issue in the modern world driven by rapid urbanization, industrialization and population growth, stressing that

  • Olusosun dump undergoes capping to stop smoke, fire

    The 47-hectres Olusosun dump in Lagos is undergoing capping to stop emission of poisonous smoke and fire outbreak at the facility, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    NAN correspondent who visited the dump yesterday reports that work is in full gear as earthmoving equipment are seen overlaying with sand while loaders are pouring laterite on the surface.

    Speaking on the project, Dr Iyabo Phillips, Director of Environmental Services, Lagos State Ministry of Environment, said the capping would last for a month.

    Phillips said the site was been covered with 250 truckloads of laterite every day to ensure that the resurfacing area was completed within a month.

    She said drainage had been constructed around the dump for easy access to the dumpsite to prevent erosion.

    “We are aware of the impact of the fume on people around, so we had to pull down the fence down in order to control the fume coming out. To ensure that lives and properties are protected, all the inhabitants of the area, especially asthmatic patients, have been asked to vacate to enable us quench the fume. The volume of the fume has been reduced,” Phillips said.

    Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) General Manager Mr Segun Adeniji, said the capping was undertaken by the state government to drastically reduce fire and smoke from the landfill site.

    Adeniji said government was aware of health hazard of smoke on the people and was making serious effort to stop it immediately.

    “We are assuring the people living in this area that within a couple of weeks, this will be a thing of the past. The entire plan is total remediation of the place so the state government can turn it to a recreation park for people to relax,” he said.

    LAWMA Assistant General Manager, Operations Essien Nseabia, said there were two types of landfill fire – the surface fire and the deep-seated fire.

    Nseabia said when the surface fire continued for a period of time, it would extend underground.

    “When methane gas mixes with oxygen, it becomes volatile and burns seriously.

    “So in attempts to quench the fire, the first thing you do is try to exclude the oxygen from the burning fume, so as to reduce the flammability power of the methane gas.

    “When the wind blows on the dumpsite, there is intrusion and that intrusion takes oxygen into the vent of the waste. So the more oxygen enters the waste, the more the burning capacity of the fire.

    “So the first thing to do is what is called capping. Capping is taking laterite to block that vent, by covering the dump.

    “Laterite is reddish in colour and that red colour is as a result of iron (II), then that iron in the laterite absorbs oxygen from underneath of the deep-seated fire and get oxidized to iron (II) oxide. So when the laterite forms that, it blocks the oxygen and the fire stops. Every day we have estimated 250 trips of laterite, at times we go beyond that, we can go below that depending on the atmosphere,” he said.

    Olusosun dump in Ojota was gutted by fire on March 14.

  • OLUSOSUN Lagos in the throes of deadly fumes

    The rains, last week, apparently came at the right time for residents and workers around Olusosun landfill/dumpsite. For weeks, thick dangerous fumes, resulting from a fire on the massive dump had enveloped the atmosphere, causing major health concern and panic in nearby highbrow Magodo Estate, Ikosi and as far as Ketu, Mile-12. Gboyega Alaka reports. 

    Even before the dump at Olusosun in Ojota area of Lagos caught fire a fortnight ago week, the air in and around the area has always been thick, foul and suspect. The only way you could walk or drive past without feeling it was if you had your car glass wound up. The respite was that the air was clear and the people felt they could deal with the smell. However, it has been a different story in the last two weeks plus. A fire that broke out on the dump early last month, causing thick poisonous fumes to rent the air, has simply refused to be put out. Despite days of headlong battle by men of the Lagos State Fire Service, it just seemed to hibernate under the rubbish and re-erupt in thick smoke that has now literally taken over the airspace and held the people captive. Workers and residents in the area testify to the efforts of the fire fighters, but regret that they may have given up, as they have stopped coming, despite the fact that the smoke keep erupting.

    Tales from far-away land

    Suddenly, it just seems like tales of foggy air and smog, which always sounded like tales from far-away lands, have come to dwell with us. Driving through the thick smoky Ojota highway, one may be tempted to think he was driving on a Beijing street, or perhaps in New Delhi, or Moscow; as visibility at a point got as low as 10 percent and vehicles had to slow down considerably. For passengers who didn’t have the luxury of air-conditioned cars or a choice of winding up their vehicle glasses, it was a taste of hell; and worse for those who got caught up in the regular heavy traffic on the axis.

    When this reporter met Lekan, an electrician on CMD Road, right opposite the smoking dump, he was reclining on a wooden bench, his nose and mouth, covered with a face mask. That has always been his work station for years, where potential clients in the neighbourhood contact him for jobs, hence he always has to come out there every day, excluding Sundays. However, since the huge dump opposite caught fire and has been emitting thick, poisonous smoke, he knew he had to do something, if he does not want to die or pick up some deadly health condition.

    “I had to go and get this nose cover, when I realised I could not just continue inhaling the horrible smoke. Please tell the governor that what we are going through here is unbearable. Tell him the fire fighters have stopped coming to fight the fire, even though the smoke is still coming out strong.” He said.

    Lekan may have taken a precaution, at least, within his ability, but Oladokun Mufutau and Adegoke – two National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), though admitting the horrible air they’ve had to put up with for days, said they do not have money to purchase any face mask. Even though the former was met devouring a robust meal of Eba and egusi soup, garnished with assorted meat, he insisted that it is the responsibility of the state government to supply them with the nose cover, more especially since the problem was caused by negligence from its dump.

    Mufutau lamented that coming to work and even staying out to work has been really hard and horrible. But as much as he fears for his health, he said the alternative for him is to stay away and lose his slot (job) to someone else. “And that,” he says, “is unthinkable.”

    His colleague, Adegoke simply dismissed the situation, saying “When we get home, we take drugs to clear our system.”

    A passenger, who identified himself as Prophet Salawu, and who said he had been sitting in the bus for about fifteen minutes, however said he wasn’t feeling threatened by the smoke. He had been in Lagos for two weeks, but lived in Ibadan. He was actually headed back to Ibadan on this occasion and does not think the little time he was spending at the park could jeopardise his health.

    Good for him, perhaps; but not so for the security men stationed at the numerous banks on CMD Road.  While the bank workers and customers could enjoy the safety of air-conditioned offices, they, pitiably, must remain outside, doing their job – albeit at a dangerous price.

    One of them stationed at the entrance gate of Diamond Bank (CMD Road) rudely asked, “What do you want me to do?” And when asked why he was not wearing a face mask, his reply was “Oga forget that one.”

    However, at the First Bank security post, the men confessed that the management had provided them with face masks, although none was wearing it at the time of this reporter’s visit. They said the ones they had had worn out and needed fresh supplies, which hadn’t come.

    When reminded of the state government’s directive for people working or living within the area to vacate the space for some time, the men simply turned away. Interview ended. Was that a stupid question? Or was it the directive that just didn’t sit well?

    Moving further towards the pedestrian bridge, this reporter came across a section of women fruit sellers. Their location appeared closer to the dump, making them more susceptible to the danger. But while one may be tempted to dismiss them as ignorant, they displayed amazing knowledge of the situation and danger in the air. Iya Sidi (not real name, who sold cherry popularly called agbalumo in Yoruba and udala in Igbo) said she was fully aware of the danger in the air but had no choice.

    Her words: “The smoke is a real danger. It actually worries me a lot and I have recently started having pains in my chest; so what I do now is get home and drink lime to wash my chest and neutralise the effect.”

    To emphasise the danger posed by the smoke, Iya Sidi narrated the story of an asthmatic girl who nearly choked to death on account of the smoke. “Two days ago, a young girl, who was obviously asthmatic, was passing by. Although she covered her nose and was trying to get by as quickly as possible, she suddenly began to choke and ran to me requesting for water. Believe me, it was only God and through the help of passers-by that she survived.”

    Iya Sidi’s story was corroborated by a fellow cherry seller, who said she has started having chest pain, while another, a banana seller, said she had recently developed cough and has had to purchase cough medicine to deal with it.

    When asked why they weren’t wearing the protective mask, the women said they would appreciate it if the government distributes the mask to them. They would however appreciate it more if the government could put out the smoke permanently.

    More people embracing face masks

    Like Lekan, the electrician, more people, though still negligible, seem to be employing the use of the face mask. A security man on the pedestrian bridge, who was sighted wearing one, said he was forced to get it because he had to stay at his post and could not afford to permanently put up with the poisonous smoke.

    Further down and right in front of the dump, two young men, Tunde and Emmanuel were sighted emerging from the thick smoke in the horizon. They are auto mechanics, they said, with workshop located beside the dump, but have been suddenly rendered idle due to the state government’s directive for residents and businesses around the dump to vacate the area temporarily.

    Said Tunde, “The implication of the directive, though in our interest, is that we have been rendered jobless until further notice. Without work, how do we make money to feed?”

    However, a lot of people could still be seen moving about, eating, chatting or simply lounging right outside the dump and the neighbouring LAGBUS compound, as if nothing was amiss. A lady at a mobile accessory store at the nearby 7Up Bus stop would not be drawn into any conversation about the dump. She perfunctorily dismissed this reporter’s questions about the effect of the smoke. She however admitted having the face mask but said: “I don’t feel comfortable wearing it.”

    At the LAGBUS premises, the attitude was the same. Even though the situation here was as bad as sitting right in the dump itself, none of the uniformed security officers on site was wearing a face mask. When asked why they were not taking precautions, a gentleman, said to be the most senior around shocked this reporter by saying the situation wasn’t so bad. He said the fumes had gone down compared to what obtained a few days earlier, basically trying to trivialise the situation.

    When countered that their location was as bad as it could get, he said they all had face masks provided by the government and promptly ordered all staff on ground to get them. Whether there was any truth in his claim or not, this reporter did not wait to confirm. It was not an atmosphere to revel in.

    The effect is strong even in Ketu, Mile 12

    “If the government is ordering people to vacate the affected vicinities, then they must be prepared to resettle people as far as Ketu – Mile 12.” This was the view of Olu, a resident of Mile 12, while reacting to the government’s directive to relocate. Olu, who was sighted at a nearby snacks shop on CMD Road, said the situation, to say the least, is “unpalatable and unhealthy.”

    He wondered why the Lagos State government could be allowing such a situation right in the centre of town. “Something should be done, and urgently too. I stay around Mile 12 area and the smoke is very strong there. As a result, we are forced to close our windows even in broad daylight. At night the smoke gets thicker and visibility gets poorer, probably next to zero.”

  • Govt shuts Olusosun dump over fire

    •Many injured, 20 vehicles, goods burnt

    THE Lagos State Government yesterday shut  the Olusosun dump at Ojota, which went up in flames on Wednesday night, emitting thick smoke .

    The smoke was still billowing yesterday, making visibility impossible for motorists.

    Many parts of Ojota, the old toll gate, Ikosi, Ketu, Seven-up and Alausa were covered in smoke.

    Some passersby  covered their noses with handkerchiefs and scarfs; others wore face masks to wade through the axis.

    Scores were injured in the explosion; about 20 vehicles, including caterpillars and trucks, were burnt

      Containers,  which served as homes, were also destroyed.

    In a statement, the Commissioner of the Environment Mr Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti explained that the fire was  the ‘’natural outcome of the trapped gases from the waste’’, which escaped.

    This, he said, occurred occasionally in dump, adding that waste in dumpsites naturally emit certain gases that are occasionally released to cause combustion  as  witnessed in Olusosun.

    Durosinmi-Etti directed the public to the Epe Landfill and other dump in the state until the Olusosun dumpsite is restored.

    He recalled that the governmnet had warned that the Olusosun, Solous Igando and Ewu Elepe dump were not sustainable  and had made plans for their phased closure.

    The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Lagos State Fire Service and Lagos State Water Corporation  battled through out yesterday to  quench the fire.

    An Okada rider, who identified himself simply  as Obina, said the explosion occurred around 4pm on Wednesday.

    He said : “I was in the area when the incident happened. We heard a loud sound and everyone ran for their lives. It was fire explosion from diesel at the dump.  One of those boys in the dump must have smoked cigarette, threw it carelessly and it engulfed into fire which contacted with the diesel trucks and led into an explosion. The fire was much and it gave a tough time to all the firefighters that came here. The wind was blowing the fire and that was how it destroyed many things at the dump. I am sure all the firefighters would have used nothing less than 40 trucks to quench this fire from yesterday (Wednesday) till now that they are still battling with it.

    “Many plastics meant for recycling were also lost to the fire. The dump has a side where they usually keep diesel and all the diesel trucks were razed. Thank God no one died.”

    A worker around the dump, Adegoke Obanla, said one of his friends fondly called Papary lost all he had to the fire.

    “Papary works and lives at the dump every Monday to Friday, he only goes to his Ikorodu home on weekends.  He is in Ikorodu now. He has a shop where he does phone charging; the shop and everything he has inside were burnt, including extension boxes, chargers, tables and chairs,” he said.

    Obanla said he lost the N50, 000 cash he kept in his room at the dumpsite for what he called ‘’emergency business’’..

    “There was another guy that got injured on his right hand. The guy was lying on the rug in his room, when he noticed the rug was bringing out smoke. He had to rush out of his room.”

    “Thank God the incident happened at the front side of the dump; if it had happened at the rear, the causalty would have been more than this, because there are many tyres in there as well as residential houses,”he said.

    An official of the firm, which manages the red buses,  said eight of their vehicles were burnt. Some  Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) trucks were also burnt. He said the fire must have been caused by the burning of the refuse dump.

    “Those people at the dump must have tried burning some of the refuse in the area; they would not have expected it to result into an emergency. Thank God nobody died.”

  • LAGBUS loses 7 vehicles in Olusosun dumpsite fire

    The Wednesday morning fire at Olusosun dumpsite in Lagos burnt seven buses belonging to LAGBUS Asset Management Limite, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has learnt.

    A LAGBUS official, who pleaded anonymity, told NAN on Thursday in Lagos that due to the thick smoke still surrounding the area, the company was yet to make further assessment of losses suffered.

    The official said that the firm had moved staff away from the area because of the health implications of the smoky environment.

    According to a NAN correspondent who visited the site, the environment is still very foggy as emergency response teams are seen with nose masks.

    Commuters at the Toll Gate bus stop near the dumpsite were also seen covering their noses with handkerchiefs and seeking quick exit out of the environment.

    Mr Adesina Tiamiyu, the General Manager of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), told NAN that there was no casualty in the inferno.

    Tiamiyu said that the emergency response teams, including the Lagos Fire Service and the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), were at the site to curtail the fire.

    NAN reports that the Lagos State Government had said that the Olusosun and other dumpsites would be shut down as part of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI).

    The government had through an Environmental Utility Firm, Visionscape Sanitation Solutions, commenced the construction of the first engineered sanitary landfill in Epe.

    However, the CLI on its website said it was necessary to clarify that the fire at Olusosun dumpsite was not an arson.

    It said that the fire broke out as a result of pockets of unstable gases caused by indiscriminate dumping which was further compounded by the dry weather.

    ”It is important to note that a major aim of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative is to eventually shut down the unsanitary dumpsite at Olusosun.

    ”The government is well aware of the risk of having such a massive, unsafe, and unsanitary landfill so close to residential areas.

    ”This is why under the CLI, three Engineered Landfills in Epe and Ikorodu have been concessioned for construction and maintenance.

    ”We expect for the first to be fully operational by early 2019, although it is already being used as a viable alternative to these dumpsites,” it said. (NAN)

  • Red buses burnt as Olusosun dumpsite catches fire

    Fire yesterday erupted from the popular Olulosun dumpsite, Ojota and left residents and commuters panicking for several hours.

    Some red buses were said to have burnt.

    For hours, thick smoke roared from the dumpsite as motorists, passersby at the Ojota, Ketu and Alausa environs ran away, wondering what could have been responsible for the massive inferno.

    The Nation gathered that the inferno began around 4pm, but the cause could not be ascertained.

    As at 8pm, officials of the Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) were still battling with the fire.

    The fire men were overwhelmed as the fire raged with many bowlers, scavengers, security personnel and other people in the stinking dumpsite watching helplessly. As the inferno spread to other parts of the dumpsite where used tyres, inflammables as well as confiscated motorcycles were kept, people scampered for safety.

    The incident also led to massive traffic gridlock on some parts of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Seven-Up axis, Governor Office Road and some parts of Alausa.

    Although, there was no casualty, it was gathered some people were injured in the process of running away.

    Fire trucks were quickly deployed to the scene with other emergency vehicles and responders but the magnitude of the fire was just too much to easily contain.

    Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Mr Rasak Fadipe, said the velocity of the outbreak was much.

    He said the fire was burning towards the direction of the Lagos red bus yard.

    Fadipe said: “I asked them to drive out all the busses, but they said some of them were faulty. They cannot be moved and we are still battling with it. We are trying to ensure the fire does not get to the nearby filling station.

    “The fire is heavy; we have used about five trucks of water and we are still here. We got the information around 4pm LASEMA and LASTMA trucks are also here with us. I cannot say how many buses are burnt, but some of them are already burning.”

  • New landfill sites to replace Olusosun dumpsite, others, says Ambode

    New landfill sites to replace Olusosun dumpsite, others, says Ambode

    • Parnership with Visionscape to end flooding, says Ambode

    The integrated waste management services contract between the Lagos State Government and leading environmental utility group Visionscape, is targeted at ending the flooding and ensuring a cleaner city, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has said.

    He spoke at a sensitisation workshop on 2017 Water Technology and Environmental Control Conference and Exhibition (WATEC) in  Ikeja.

    The governor said the overall objective of the new environmental policy of his administration encapsulated in the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI), was basically to capitalise on the vantage position of Lagos as the world’s highest producer of waste by adopting a waste-to-wealth programme with the view to tackling environmental challenges and growing the State’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    According to the contract spanning 10 years, Visionscape which specializes in providing turnkey solutions in areas of sanitation, energy and wastewater treatment, will be responsible for door-to-door waste collection services to households in the state.

    Ambode said the Olusosun dump site which had been an eyesore and others would be closed, while Visionscape would build an engineered sanitary landfill sites and transfer loading stations/material recovery sites where the collected waste would be properly managed in line with international best practice, and thereby finally eliminating the issues of dumping of waste in drainages and on the roadsides.

    “You see, I live in Ikeja and each time I have to pass through Motorways, do you think I like what I see? That is not a land fill site in Olusosun, it is a dump site. The place is an eyesore and it is the first thing you see when you are coming into Lagos and that is not what you should see in a city that is globally competitive.

    “The impression that has been given is that Olusosun is a land fill site but the answer is no. It is not scientifically treated; you only allow compactors to go and drop waste in a living neighborhood. Who does that?

    “It has been there for almost 30 years and nobody is looking at it but we are now looking at it.

    The truth is this, with the CLI, we have to shut down Olusosun dump site and part of the contract is that Visionscape will give us new land fill sites that are scientifically treated,” he explained.

    Clarifying issues raised by some of the participants at the workshop,  Ambode expressed excitement at the decision of Visionscape to key into the vision of his administration to revolutionise waste management in the state.

    He said: “Lagos is generating the highest waste per day in the world more than New York. Documented statistics show that Lagos is generating 13,000 metric tonnes of waste every day. New York is generating 10,000. So, if Lagos is generating 13,000 waste per day and you factor in the unmanned areas in Ayobo, Ijede and all that combined, Lagos will be generating maybe 16,000 tonnes per day. The business part of it is that we can easily turn the waste to wealth and so there is an unchartered economy in the waste business in Lagos.

    “From our own vision, we believe strongly that this is one sure bet way to grow our GDP but there has been a total mismanagement of waste which has led us to review our legislation and introduce waste management reform in the state and that is why we have gone into the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI).

    “Through the initiative, one of the best known private sector companies in waste management is Visionscape and they are everywhere in the world. We have attracted them to Lagos and for us to do that in a period of recession speaks volume about how we are managing the state because for them, they believe that if they can conquer Lagos, it means that there is nothing about waste management that they cannot conquer, which is our own selling point also.”

    He said once the waste is properly evacuated, the firm would also facilitate the second level of waste management which is the turning of waste into wealth and other beneficial uses.

  • Lagos to relocate Olusosun, other dumpsites

    THE Lagos State Government will shut the Olusosun dumpsite and Solos dumpsites by the end of the year to pave the way for a new waste management regime from January 1, next year.

    The Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, made this known during the monthly media parley in his Alausa, Ikeja office.

    According to Adejare, the proposed waste management regime will be “holistic and cover every aspect of waste management.”

    The Nation gathered that the effort is part of the ministry’s master plan to re-engineer waste management.

    Adejare said the state has  declared a “final zero tolerance” for violations of environmental laws, especially those infringing on the right of way – either of the roads,  walkways, rail lines and drainage channels.

    The government, the commissioner said, would demolish all illegal structures and attachments outside designated markets to ensure free flow of storm water and  avert flooding.

    With its ever-rising population, Lagos, he said, could not afford to compromise safety by allowing obstructions of access to markets, rail lines, roads and drainages. To do otherwise would amount to allowing flood water to stagnate and cause malaria and other diseases, the commissioner said.

    He warned that it would no longer be business as usual for street traders who obstruct traffic, commit heinous crimes and endanger public safety, adding that street trading does not befit the state’s reputation.  The Commissioner noted that street traders and hawkers had been degrading the environment, parks and gardens, as well as encouraging crimes and causing traffic gridlocks.

  • Lagos to relocate Olusosun, other dumpsites

    The Lagos State Government  plans to relocate dumpsites in the city.

    The Olusosun dumpsite in Ojota and Solos dumpsite will be shut by the end of the year, to pave way for a new waste management regime  from January 1, next year.

    The Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, broke the news last Tuesday during the monthly media parley in his Alausa, Ikeja office.

    According to Adejare, the new waste management regime will be “holistic and cover every aspect of waste management.”

    The Nation gathered that the effort is part of the ministry’s master plan  to re-engineer waste management in the state.

    Adejare said the state has  declared a “final zero tolerance” for violations of environmental laws especially those infringing on the right of way- either of the roads,  walkways, rail lines and drainage channels. The  government, the commissioner said, would demolish all illegal structures and attachments outside  designated markets to ensure free flow of storm water and  avert flooding.

    With its ever-rising population, Lagos,  he said, could not afford to compromise safety by allowing obstructions of access to markets, rail lines, roads and drainages. To do otherwise would amount to allowing flood  water to stagnate and cause malaria and other diseases, the commissioner said.

    He warned that it would no longer be business as usual for street traders who  obstruct traffic, commit heinous crimes and endanger public safety, adding that street trading does not befit the hard-earned reputation of the state.  He regrets that street traders and hawkers, Adejare said had been degrading the environment, parks and gardens, as well as encouraging crimes and  causing traffic gridlocks.

    “Our state is a centre of excellence and we shall not allow a few  unscrupulous groups or persons that indiscriminately dump refuse on our  roads and blocks our drainages to go without stiff sanctions. Their habits portend dire consequences for our health, traffic, safety and  security of our people,” he said, adding that  the buyers and sellers would face  the same sanctions.

    The government the commissioner said, was aware that people must make a living, but this should not be at the expense of the lives  of others.

    He said fines, seizure of goods, non-custodian penalties community service involving washing of public  toilets, cutting of grass, sweeping of roads, cleaning of drains and carting away of refuse to dump sites were some of the proposed.