The Lagos State Government has urged commercial bus operators to embrace usage of refuse basket in their buses.
Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) General Manager Rasheed Shabi said the possession of basket was in line with the environmental policy of Lagos.
Shabi stated that it had become an offence to throw anything outside from vehicles on the road.
He added that indiscriminate dispose of waste now attracted punishment of fine or jail sentence or both.
The development of a strategic roadmap by the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration for the environment may have set the stage for Lagos to live up to its Centre of Excellence appellation. BUNMI OGUNMODEDE writes on the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI) – Lagos’ new move against filth.
After a comprehensive review of its Environmental Sanitation Laws, the Lagos State government has introduced the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI) for to effectively manage waste.
The systemic failure in Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators’ involvement in waste management informed the CLI idea, with which the government hopes to tame refuse and create jobs.
Earlier in the year, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode ordered the city-cleaners – the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) – to stop further collection of waste bills. He directed that all payments should henceforth, be remitted to the accounts of PSP operators.
The directives came on the heels of the cancellation of the monthly environmental sanitation, which was introduced by the state government during the administration of former Governor Bola Tinubu.
Since he came on board, Ambode has never hidden his plan to radically reform the state’s sanitation laws and waste management policy.
Last year, the government signed a $135 million (about N85 billion) partnership agreement with a foreign firm. The partnership, under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, is expected to last for four years.
Ambode highlighted his administration’s policy direction on waste management when he spoke last week at MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos Island. It was at the annual lecture of the Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL). The lecture had “Living well together, tomorrow: The challenge of Africa’s future cities” as its theme. The governor told his audience of the massive reform being proposed in waste management.
The implementation of the reform, according to him, kicks off by July.
He said the time had come for the state to evolve a new waste management policy that would not only be befitting of a mega city state but ensure that the state remains clean and safe for healthy living.
His words: “We are also embarking on massive reform in the waste and sanitation management system. I don’t like the way the city is and the Private Sector Participants (PSP) collectors are not having enough capacity to do it but again should I tax people to death. The answer is no.
“I don’t want to tax the people. So, we need this partnership with private sector operators so that they can invest in the sanitation management of the city and in no time, maybe by July, the city will change forever.”
The Environment Commissioner, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, said more than 600 Mercedes Benz compactors would be deployed and thousands of street sweepers engaged in all the wards across the state when the policy comes on stream.
The PSP operators, Adejare explained, will be restricted to handling commercial waste, even as the existing landfill sites will be closed. Transfer Loading Stations (TLS) will be built in all local government areas and more than one million ultra-modern waste bins deployed.
The litre bins will be fitted with censors to monitor their movement against theft and vandalism.
Explaining the need for the introduction of a new technology into waste management, the commissioner stressed that the decision to contract waste management under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement was taken because of the high cost which the state could no longer shoulder in the face of limited resources.
Under the reform, Adejare said three coded waste bags would be distributed to homes for proper sorting and waste disposal by residents.
He said: “The result of this new arrangement is that waste disposal will no longer be a challenge as efficient system will be on ground for effective management which will eventually eradicate cart pushers in the process.”
Why the CLI
The CLI has been established as an extensive and sustainable waste management system to maximize the state’s potential in solid waste management, with focus on recycling, waste recovery and reduction efforts, liquid waste management, drainage management and waste water treatment.
The news arrangement will also develop sufficient infrastructure for collection, processing and disposal of all waste to meet the state’s environmental objectives.
“Specifically, it will create the enabling environment for non-governmental agencies, the private sector and the government to harness international best practices in this vital area of infrastructure”, it was learnt.
The Nation learnt that the CLI will add value and empower those at the bottom of the value chain as it will incorporate citizens as solution providers. They will be taking up responsibilities for the sanitation of their immediate communities.
Contrary to the fears of the PSP operators losing their jobs, no fewer than 27,500 community sanitation workers would be engaged under the scheme.
A government source, who pleaded for anonymity, told The Nation: “While these jobs are important, the induced effect of higher spending power is where we hope to create about 400,000-500,000 jobs. These jobs are those generated as a benefit of the increased expenditures in the supply and distribution chains from the new employees spending more money in the general economy.”
“The local multiplier effect of a progressive policy that pays above the federally mandated minimum wage in distributional terms is immeasurable. The positive impact on low-income households is particularly beneficial, not only to direct beneficiaries within the household, but also within the local economy as higher spending by workers typically results in an increase in demands of goods and services within their local communities.
“The relentless efforts of the administration regarding employment for out of work youth who make up almost 50 per cent of the entire Lagos population have been exemplary. The state hopes to ultimately drive meaningful job growth and create opportunities in entirely new industries.
“An increase in monthly income with the creation of thousands of jobs on the state economy translates to overall improvement in public finances, thereby acting as a catalyst for the delivery of socio-economic values across the state.”
New roles for operators
The revised legislative framework harmonising the various laws on environment into a single law to allow for a more convenient administration of the law and management of the environment gave consideration to PSP operators. But CLI has laid emphasis on elaborate and standardised regulation of the environment.
In designing a sustainable waste management system, the government adopted a holistic approach to addressing the unique problems of Lagos as a city-state with its estimated 22 million population.
The strategic policy, expected to tame Lagos waste is a product of the ministries of Environment, Justice, Urban and Physical Planning.
A source said: “We have developed enforcement and most importantly, financing strategy, to support the initiatives. Over the past 10 months, these efforts have been shaped into the Cleaner Lagos Initiative.
“The role of the PSPs in the restructuring of the waste management system in Lagos going forward will be to serve the commercial sector of the state.
“The positive impact that PSPs efforts have had over the years on the Lagos landscape is undeniable. However, we cannot deny that we need a comprehensive waste management system that is world standard. Currently, we do not have an existing structure in place to support those endeavours.
The restructuring will benefit PSP operators because the state plans to introduce new environmental policies and laws that not only protect the citizens and the environment but all waste management operators who painstakingly invest the resources into helping with the clean-up of the city.”
The restructuring has created new operational parameters, which will see the existing operators working in the commercial and public sectors.
The source went on: “The law makes new provisions that protect the interests of existing investments by requiring all commercial entities to have a valid and enforceable contract with a registered operator.
“There are over 10,000 registered commercial businesses in Lagos. So, the PSP operators are still very much relevant in the new waste management system.
“Sustainable long-term funding is needed at both the state and local levels to support the efforts needed to reach the state’s goals. Therefore, systematic planning is critical to the long-term success of this comprehensive plan we have for the state.
“We have worked to improve safety and security by boosting the security forces, the emergency response capabilities and by improving lighting. We are now turning our focus to sanitation and the environment- there is no denial that the system is flawed.
“This administration has chosen to take the bull by the horns and address the challenges within waste management that are affecting our health, our economy and the very livelihoods of future generations to come in a phased, strategic and successful manner.”
Our fears, by PSP operators
Living with the fear that the reform may erase their jobs, waste managers, under the auspices of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAN), last Thursday, rushed to the Lagos State House of Assembly for protection.
According to them, their investment is threatened, with the government’s “Cleaner Lagos Initiative”.
They kicked against the new bill to harmonise all environment-related laws in the state into one. A public hearing was being held on the bill entitled: “A Bill for a Law to Provide for the Management, Protection and Sustainable Development of the Environment in Lagos State and for other Connected Purposes” at the Assembly when the AWAN members stormed the complex.
The protesters carried different placards with various inscriptions, such as: “Dear Hon. members, Lagos MOE wants to cede our services to foreign firms, Monopoly! Wetin we fit do self”; “Inequitable! 80 per cent to Oyinbo, 20 per cent to Lagosians not acceptable”; “If my people cannot clean their city, what can dey do? Asiwaju Tinubu said in 2006”; and “The Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, we humbly plead with you to speak for our investment which is the bedrock of entire Lagos Activities”.
Mr. Taju Ekemode, the spokesman for the more than 200 protesters, who are PSP chief executive officers and managing directors, said the new law that has ceded 80 per cent of waste management to foreign investors would adversely affect their investments.
Ekemode, who is AWAN’s Vice Chairman, said: “We are here today to let the lawmakers know our feelings, what we suffer and what we may suffer with the new Cleaner Lagos Planning policy.We have been doing this job well over the years and there has been no problems.”
He described as unfair the government’s plan to hire a foreign firm to clean Lagos.
He said: “We are not against reform in any way, but the reform should be around the current PSP; that is what we are saying. The policy directing us to leave the streets to allow foreign firms to take over will kill businesses. Where do we put those trucks? We can’t use them to carry sand. Those trucks cannot be used for any other thing, apart from wastes. What do we do with our investments? What do we do with the loans we got from banks?
“Before the bill is passed, we want the lawmakers to consider the PSP as representatives of the people. The governor said we should take over the commercial place, but the percentage of commercial centre in Lagos is just about 20 compared to what is being ceded to foreign investment.”
Government: No cause for worry
Going by the state government’s explanation, the protesting members of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAN) may be living with the fear of the harmless.
In apparent response to a suit by the association of PSP (Private Sector Participant) operators reportedly served on relevant ministries within the state government, Environment Commissioner Babatunde Adejare, listed the gains of the new policy.
A statement by the commissioner identified the people’s safety and wellbeing as priority for the Akinwunmi-led government.
The statement reads: “We firmly believe in protecting and guaranteeing the basic human rights of the people. We acknowledged the numerous challenges that have plagued the state when it comes to sanitation. When our administration took over, it was apparent to us that we needed to make determined efforts towards water, sanitation and hygiene.
“This is why over the last 10 months, we have taken a holistic approach to identifying the unique problems and have focused on creating a framework for a sustainable integrated waste management system.
“We sought and obtained executive council approval to carry out a full review along with the ministries of Finance and the Justice, we put the existing laws and policies under a microscope, we have reviewed them to reflect that sanitation is treated as a non-negotiable requisite in Lagos.
“And we have come up with strategies for regulation, enforcement and most importantly financing to support the initiatives. The Cleaner Lagos Initiative was born from the results of this process.
The CLI was established as an extensive and sustainable waste management system for Lagos that will maximise the state’s potential in solid waste management with recycling, recovery and waste reduction efforts, liquid waste management, drainage management, and waste water treatment. It also seeks to fully develop sufficient infrastructure for collection, proper processing and disposal of all waste to meet the state’s environmental objectives.
“The first phase of the initiative, tackles solid waste management which is in a clear state of crisis due to the moribund supporting infrastructure that must be beefed up- bin placement, transfer loading stations, material recovery facilities and of course landfills.
The current arrangement is highly cumbersome – LAWMA in its role as regulator is expected to coordinate the activities of 350 individual companies and still carry out its own collection services.
•Lagos Mainland clears drainage
Officials and workers of Lagos Mainland Local Government Area will clear the drainage of at least 10 streets in the next few days.
The sanitation is aimed at reducing malaria and other diseases among the residents.
The local government administrator, Adedoyin Rojaiye, warned the residents against dumping refuse in the gutters.
Rojaiye spoke during his tour of the drains where two labourers, who were breaking a slab to erect a pole and make for a more comfortable exit for their hotel building, were accosted.
He said: “Government just repaired two roads in the local government, among which is Borno Way. I am amazed to see them destroy this facility which the government put up for the people. If they put it up, I will prosecute them. This is because they have all been advised to do everything within the ambit of the law.
“So, I have informed them that they would be prosecuted accordingly, because I won’t stand seeing a road that has just been fixed to be damaged. I have told them to remove the pole. I am sure they will comply.”
Our reporter visited three of the streets where the sanitation was being carried out and met the local government workers clearing the drainage of sand and other forms of dirt from the gutters.
They said this would aid an easy flow of the drains.
A monitoring team, which comprised the local government’s Sole Administrator, Mr Adedoyin Rojaiye, was at work on Freeman Street, Borno Way and Market Street.
Rojaiye was joined by the council’s health workers for the sanitation.
The administrator expressed gratitude to the people for giving him the opportunity to serve them and humanity.
He said this was a coincidence he considered as a long-time vision and buying into the vision of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on the safety and cleanliness of the state.
Rojaiye said he started the sanitation because of the rainy season, which he noted caused the drains to be blocked.
The administration said the cleanliness of the streets and the gutters would avert floods and the outbreak of epidemic, especially malaria and Lassa fever.
Mr Ganiyu, a resident of 45 Odaliki Street, said he had monitored the workers since they began the sanitation, adding that it showed the government was working.
He recalled that hitherto, there was a blockage in the drainage and whenever it rained.
Ganiyu said the streets got flooded, adding: “With this development, I am sure there will be free flow of water and we, the residents, will maintain this during environmental sanitation and on regular basis, dispose our dirt properly.”
Lagos Mainland has major markets, such as the popular Oyinbo Market, where the biggest foodstuff market is situated.
Rojaiye urged the residents to take a cue from his gesture and clean their drainage regularly to ensure a healthier environment.
Refuse has taken over some parts of Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, with residents afraid of its health risks.
The rubbish accumulated over the Yuletide in strategic parts of the town.
Incinerators in some parts of the town are brimming with the attendant stench.
In some areas where there are no incinerators, residents dumped refuse at junctions, road medians and drains.
The affected areas are Okeyinmi, Post Office Roundabout, Ijigbo Okesa, Irona, Ilawe Road, Ajilosun, Oke Ila and Atikankan.
Despite the presence of filth, activities went on at Bisi Market, which opens every five days.
Some residents are worried that failure to clear the refuse poses a danger to public health.
A resident, Paul Oloniyo, said: “We are worried that refuse could accumulate this much without efforts to clear them.
“This is shameful for the state capital which is the seat of government and commerce.
“We urge the government to help us clear the rubbish so that we will not fall victims of diseases.”
A source said the situation had not been helped by the non-payment of refuse collectors and street sweepers, who are being owed salaries like other government employees.
Biafra; the sunset in the east, when brothers went to war against each other for about three and half years over political brouhaha.
The avoidable civil war that ended in January 1970 with the message ” No Victor, no vanquished”, while in reality, there were victors and there were the vanquished. The victor was the Nigerian state. The vanquished were the Igbos. General Yakubu Gowon tried to heal the wound with the three Rs; Restoration, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation. Good as the mantra sounds, our friends from the Eastern part have kept telling the nation about the maginalisation they suffered in the hands of our rulers. First, the Igbos first Army General came almost forty years after the end of the civil war. The post of Inspector General of Police suffered the same fate, as none of the Igbos have had a taste of the post. The highest political post, the presidency, appears unatainable, as Igbo candidates only got votes from the “Biafrans” majorly. The coming of President Muhammadu Buhari to power and the political appointments opened old wounds that no single Igbo man was among the top seven political leaders in the nation, despite their clamouring for it.
THE BIRTH OF BIAFRA
Chief Emeka Ojukwu led the Igbos to three and half years civil war with reasons, even though some schools of thoughts were of the opinion that the war was avoidable, if Ojukwu and Gowon had buried their ego and put national interest above personal interest. Ojukwu was an aristocrat, had a better background and education than Gowon. He was a senior to the latter in the military. So, for Gowon to boss Ojukwu, despite the prevailing situation then was anathema.
Young Igbo military officers, massacred the politicians, notably, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, the then Prime Minister, Chief S. L. Akintola and several others on the ground of effecting a change of government through coup d’etat. The death of civilians and military officers of northern origin and the promotion of 20 military officers out of which18 were of eastern origin provoked counter coup of 29 July, 1966. The Murtala Mohamned-led coup killed the then military Head of State, General Aguyi Ironsi and several igbo Army officers. The innocent easterners living in the north were visited with retaliation of the death of the northern leaders. The Igbos lost not only lives but properties. So they were admonished to return home.
While justifying the birth of Biafra, Chief Ojukwu stated: ” Biafra nation were fighting for unity, self determination, social justice. ” He went further that the pogrom in the north and the failure of the Federal Government to guarantee security of lives and properties made the birth of Biafra inevitable. Chinua Achebe wrote: ” The only thing left for persecuted easterners to do was to establish our own state and avert destruction. ” Herbert Hoover, once stated older men declare war but it is the youths that must fight and die.” That was the situation when Ojukwu and Igbo leaders declared war that claimed over 6 million lives from both sides. Forty years after the end of the civil war, it seems the sound of war is on again in Biafra. The wound might have been healed but the scars persist. Although there is no pogrom, the Igbos are not facing persecution in the dimention of the level that led to the civil war. But the People are not comfortable with the political sharing of offices. Their grouse now is political marginalisation. The Igbos were better placed than the Yorubas under President Goodluck Jonathan. They were the pillars that held Jonathan administration intact. But they miscalculated by putting all their eggs in a basket by voting for the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) hoping Jonathan would retain his post. But unfortunately, Jonathan’s defeat was a loss to the Igbo political camp. What they could not derive through the ballot boxes, they believe that agitation for a Biafran state may grant them.
The governors from the Eastern States must come together, reason together and dialogue on the demand for a Biafran state. It is painful that majority of the protesters were not born before the war. So it is easy for them to demand for war. Those who sufffered as a result of the civil war and alive today will likely think twice before venturing into another war. Novelist George Santayana asserted: “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. Both the Federal Government and the states agitating for cecession cannot pretend that all is well. The Igbos have the right under African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and the United Nations Charter on Human and People’s Rights to demand for a separate state. But the agitators must follow the law. The procedure is clear enough but to do otherwise would run contrary to the law of the land , this would likely make mockery of the intelligence of the great men and women of the Igbos.
India and Pakistan were once together but today they are independent states. The remote cause of Pakistan separation from India was due to leadership crisis. Nehru Ghandhi and Marhatma Ghandi clashed over religion. Both leaders underestimated Jinnah, Muslim League, its ambition and outreach. The instigation of religious violence, retaliation and counter violence led to the inevitable; Partition of two brothers, fighting over petty issues, not ready to listen and even the parents acting as stubborn kids.
Sudan’s recent example should be an eye opener for any of the group, who sees the need to stand alone. Sudan’s separation came after 50 years of political and arms struggle. The national question has been an old challenge.
The Igbo youths have the rights to express themselves and to demand for their needs. But it must be done in a civil and legal manner. The burning of Nigerian flags and the tearing of Nigerian passport are violation of the law of the land. No government will fold its arms when a group of people felt aggrieved and take laws into their hands. From state to states the agitators can march peacefully to the State Assembly with their demands for separate states. They could hold meetings with their state representatives at the National Assembly with a written letter demanding for the state of Biafra. It is those that are alive that can benefit from the demand for a new Biafra. To confront the state with the security agents in a violent manner could be termed felonies.
Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indeference of those who should have known better and the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most that has made it possible for evil to triumph. ” We expect the Igbo leaders to dialogue with the Federal government before their youths commit harakiri.
The agitators for the state of Biafra can take time off and ask questions with regards to the Igbo investments all over Nigeria. Will it be wise to provoke another war? What will happen to all their businesses here and there. The safety of the Igbos all over Nigeria should be paramount in the heart of the agitators. It is true that one may know the begining of war, only God can determine the outcome. It is an act of immaturity for any group, be it Yoruba, Hausa/Fulani or Igbo to be beating the drum of war each time their demands are not met. There is no ethnic group that has not attempted to quit the country at one time or the other. Civilisation should make the aggrieved to take the path of litigation than taking laws into one’s hands.
President Muhammadu Buhari should address the marginalisation of the Igbos. A statesman is not only a father of his people but a man who rises above the shenanigans of the opposition to win them to his side with political sagacity. He is a man who see solution to every challenges where adversaries see nothing but failure.
Under the ousted regime of President Jonathan, the Igbos were better placed than the Yoruba and Hausa/ Fulanis, even though the MASSOB were busy with their agitation for the state of Biafra, the mobilisation was not as it is today. The Buhari government might have compounded the political imbalance that the Igbo are now catching on to demand for separation. The nation needs peace and cooperation of all the ethnic groups in Nigeria. We must call all the parties involved in the campaign for Biafran state to come to the negotiating table as a matter of necessity before things get out of hands. Is long ago that the sun set at Biafra, whatever the Igbo want today they must not allow innocent blood to flow again across the Niger.
In line with the seven-day ultimatum given by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Mr. John Chukwu to all area councils chairmen to evacuate refuse in their domains, Kuje is wearing a new look after the exercise.
Some residents of the council who spoke with journalists during the evacuation exercise, praised the council’s environmental department for its continuous efforts in sanitising the area despite the challenges of infrastructures faced by the people.
One of the residents, Mr. Godwin Jacob, also commended the Permanent Secretary for the clean-up directive, saying that despite the previous effort from the environmental department to clean up the area, there were some areas that lacked proper cleaning. But that has been taken care of by the department during the clean-up exercise.
Jacob, who said that environmental sanitation has become a tradition in the area, because of the effort been put in by the present head of department to ensure a clean and healthy environment, lamented that almost all the major feeder roads in the council have gone bad, without the effort of the present administration to rehabilitate them.
“However, apart from the area of proper environmental sanitation, we have not seen any adequate infrastructures on ground, especially good roads. The truth is that we have not felt the impact of this administration since it took over from the last administration, and we wonder what he is doing with the allocation that he is getting from the federal government, “ he said.
The Head of Environmental department in the council, Mr. Abdulrazak Abdulkarim who spoke with journalists attributed the problem of irregular sanitation exercise by the council to funding, saying that the leadership of the council is always committed to ensuring a clean and healthy environment for the people of Kuje to live in.
Abdulkarim further called on the people of Kuje to imbibe the habit of proper waste disposal, in order for it to be easy for evacuation when the environmental department wants to evacuate them to their permanent dump sites, saying that when wastes are dumped indiscriminately, they end up making the environment look unkempt and unhealthy.
He further cautioned scavengers against spreading refuse on the roads when they are properly disposed, explaining that most times when waste are properly disposed at designated dump sites, scavengers are the ones that spread the refuse to the roads and make them constitute nuisance to residents.
Mushin Local Government Executive Secretary, Jide Bello has appealed to residents of his area to stop indiscriminate refuse dumping.
Speaking during the tree planting exercise in Mushin, he said virtually all the roads constructed by the state and local governments were being damaged by flood because of the refuse blocked the drainage channels. “The refuse were generated by few disgruntled individuals, larger number of people suffers when the roads are bad. The rain water could easily enter the drainage channels if the refuse had not blocked the drains. There must be attitudinal changes by the residents. The slogan of our party,” he said.
Bello went on: “Tree planting has become a yearly programme of the state, the trees we planted last year and years before are being nurtured to maturity, families, schools , churches, mosques, markets, associations, clubs , streets and others must cultivate the idea of planting trees.
“The trees are beneficial to human existence. No individual or group of people must cut any tree without government approval. Rams, cattles, goats etc must not be allowed to eat leaves from these trees; the owners of such animals will be prosecuted.”
He urged landlords to leave enough space for car park, trees and others within their compounds adding that illegal parking of cars, trucks on major roads should become a thing of the past.
In attendance were representative of Lagos State Governor Mrs Adefunmilayo Tejuoso, a director in the Ministry of the Environment, Bade Adebowale, an engineer, the Onitire of Itire land, Oba Lateef Dauda, Area Commander Area ‘D’ Command Mr MD Garba, CDC chairman Alhaji Rasheed Agbolade, Chief Imam Mushin Central Mosque Alhaji Sulaimon Olanijo.
Residents of Jos, the capital of Plateau State, are paying the price of the strike action declared by civil servants in the state since May 5. The stench from mounting refuse hangs thick in the air, to say nothing of the unsightly streets.
There is no aspect of the state government that is working including government-owned hospitals. The striking union did not only shut down the entire government establishments, they stationed their men at those offices to make sure nobody broke the rule. They want every minute of the strike to count. And it is.
The worst aspect of the strike is the accumulation of refuse dumps that have formed mountains on major streets of the city. There is hardly any street that is spared of this refuse attack. In some places the heaps have closed off the streets. Rwang Pam Street and Old Bukuru Park, by AP Fuel Station, are examples.
The worst hit are such commercial streets as Ahmadu Bello Way, Murtala Muhammed Way, Tudunwada, Terminus market, Hwolshe, Dogon Karfe, Rikkos, Bauchi Road, Jenta Adamu and several other places. Apart from the ones in the market areas and major streets, there are more in most residential areas that have put lives in danger of epidemics.
Staff of the state Ministry for Environment usually placed large containers in most parts of residential areas of the state. When they are full, they are emptied into refuse trucks and disposed of at a location on the outskirts of the city. But now that the workers have laid down their tools, the containers are running with waste. Yet, residents having nowhere to turn to, still aim their waste at the overflowing containers.
Most residents who live close to such containers can no longer enjoy a good breath; they can hardly sleep, with the stench so thick in the air. In such environments, passersby and residents battle with flies that are feeding on the refuse. Some residents have even taken advantage of the heaps of refuse to defecate there.
Given this scenario, observers worry about the health hazard residents. There used to be workers responsible for sweeping the streets of Jos on a daily basis as a deliberate measure to keep the state capital clean. But with the ongoing strike, no one sweeps any more.
The crux of the matter is workers’ welfare. Even before the strike, the workers were without salaries for several months, their morale so low that most of them willingly abandoned their duty post since January this year. Invariably, the mountain of refuse residents are battling may have been accumulated for a period of three months prior to the declaration of the strike.
Now the entire city is filthy, making driving or walking along the street dangerous in more ways than one. Motorists often wind up their glasses to avoid the odour on the street. But passersby have no option but to inhale the unhealthy air. Certainly you can’t avoid the flies that probably see the walkers as intruders. They slap with their wings and kick with their legs until you move far away from the zone.
Medical experts have expressed fear of major health challenges ahead. Dr. Samuel Gyang said, “The situation in Jos here is risky for human beings; people are exposed to several diseases already. In this situation, cholera is very likely and when it comes, it is going to affect the entire population because we live with these refuse at home and on the streets. No one is safe.”
The fear of epidemic is higher at Old Bukuru Park, Tudun Wada, Zaramaganda, Bukuru and Kabong.
However, given the strike, government officials have no access to their offices; they are hunted by the aggrieved labor union. So it is even impossible to get reaction from relevant environmental ministries and agencies.
Residents have resorted to personal protection. No one seems to know when the strike will be called off and the evacuators back to duty.
Residents of Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, fear that they could soon have an epidemic outbreak on their hands.
Why?
Garbage bins in the city are full and overflowing. Not just that. They stink.
Will the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA)do something?
The residents said it is the responsibility of the agency to evacuate domestic and industrial waste in Aba and its environs.
Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the situation was so bad that refuse along the Port-Harcourt Road by Tonimas to Coca Cola Bus Stop has taken over a portion of the dual carriage way.
The story is even worse at Ngwa Road where hawkers display their wares at any available space beside the mountainous garbage.
The heap of garbage at Ngwa Road was so massive that it caused serious gridlock as motorists and other road users struggled for space.
Traders who spoke to our correspondent admitted that they run the risk of inhaling the stench from the garbage. They question why ASEPA should wait for so long before evacuating the garbage.
The traders said that they did not have shops inside the New Market and had to hawk their wares on the road, especially when there is traffic jam.
“Despite the fact that these garbage heaps are here, we still pay levies to stay here and sell our wares. There is nothing we can do about the situation. It is the duty of ASEPA to evacuate it. We must sell our goods in order to feed our families. So, we must come to market. What we are experiencing is that customers who were supposed to come and buy from us now go inside the market to buy. Some of our customers call us on the phone to place orders and we package what they want to give them. It is a little distance from the military base.”
Elder Friday Nwulu, a trader at Ngwa Road Market spoke about the garbage heap that has taken over the road. He said the traders, in an effort to reduce their suffering, contributed money to remove nine tipper-loads of garbage.
Nwulu, who also expressed fears of probable outbreak of epidemic, appealed to the state government and ASEPA to come to their aid by ensuring that the harbage heaps were evacuated daily to ease the sufferings of traders and inhabitants of the area who are exposed to airborne diseases daily.
The situation is the same at Ukaegbu Road, Opobo Junction, 7up Road off Ogbor Hill, Abayi Girls by Aba-Owerri Road, Ohabiam Primary School, Ibo National Grammar School, among other areas within the city centre where garbage are now dumped indiscriminately and being allowed to decay to produce deadly stench and unhealthy odour.
Some shop owners along Port Harcourt Road alleged that the the over 10km stretch garbage heap was caused by the lackadaisical approach of the waste disposal agency in the discharge of their duty, stressing that if the situation continues unchecked, there could be a possible outbreak of airborne diseases.
The General Manager of ASEPA, Aba zone, Ikechukwu Anyataonwu, in a text message said the agency is “working very hard. Bear with the agency. We had challenges. Thank God we are back. We assure of better services ahead”.