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Tag: sanitation

  • Lagos may scrap monthly environmental sanitation

    Lagos may scrap monthly environmental sanitation

    THE Lagos State Government is contemplating scrapping the monthly environmental sanitation, Commissioner for the Environment Dr Babatunde Adejare hinted yesterday.

    He told reporters during the monthly media briefing in his Alausa, Ikeja office that in the present administration’s thinking, Lagos, as the fifth biggest economy in Africa should function round-the-clock.

    “So, the government cannot afford to be shutting a megacity of the stature of Lagos”, he said.

    The Commissioner noted that this year, the exercise had been cancelled twice because of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the Easter celebration.

    “We cannot continue to close down the state for three hours even on exam days and still expect our children to get to exam centres on time. We also cancelled the exercise to enable people celebrate Easter. We don’t have to shut down the city to maintain our environment; maintaining our environment should be our way of life and it should be on daily basis,” Adejare explained.

    He issued a seven-day notice to markets violating the environmental laws, warning them of the consequences of their action. Some of the markets which risk closure include, Sura, Itafaji, Oke-Odo, Sangrouse, Bariga, Ajah Ultra-Modern, Agbalaka (Badagry), Aiyetoro, Sabo and Ita-Elewa in Ikorodu.

    Illegal traders and owners of illegal shanties and mechanic workshops on wetlands and setbacks on both sides of the Lekki-Epe Expressway were also served the notice.

    Adejare said despite continuous advocacy, enlightenment and appeals, some markets and street traders have been violating environmental laws.

    He lamented that the spilling of traders into the highway, walkways and setbacks, if not checked, would compound the state’s traffic challenges.

    The Commissioner said the state could no longer fold its arms and watch some traders, under the guise of making a living, compromise the health and safety of others.

    He said the zero tolerance for street trading and environmental abuses is to take the megacity’s cleanliness to a comparable level with its peers anywhere in the world.

    The commissioner described as illegal trading around the new Oyingbo market, urging those with shops to make use of the ultra-modern facilities responsibly and refrain from street trading.

  • Sanitation: Six landlords jailed in Ondo

    A Mobile court sitting in Ondo town, presided over by Magistrate Odenusi Fadeyi has sentenced six landlords to six months imprisonment each with hard labour.

    Prosecutors Elizabeth Akinfemisoye and Adejoke Olarewaju, said the landlords were arraigned in the court over four-count charge.

    This ranged from their inability to provide latrine accommodation in their various places of domicile, since the existing one is filled up and liable to cause epidemic in the area.

    The landlords were also accused of failing to amend the dilapidated walls in their premises.

    hey were also accused of defecating indiscriminately around their premises, the development  which the health officers claimed was capable of causing outbreak of diseases in the area.

    They were also  alleged to have failed to provide sanitary kitchen and bathroom in their houses  since the existing one is unsanitary and exposes the users.

    The offences the health officers claimed have contradicted and contrary to section 8, part II, cap 52 and punishable under same section and sub-section o, p, r, and a of Ondo State environmental sanitation law of 2004.

    When the charges were read to all the accused persons, they all pleaded  guilty,however, after listening to the application of both the prosecutors  and the accused persons, the presiding Magistrate Odenusi Fadeyi, sentenced the landlords to six months imprisonment each  or pay the sum of N10,000 in lieu of the fine.

    Similarly, five residential buildings located in various parts of the community were also ordered to be sealed-off by the court.

    The developed was hinged on what it described as poor sanitary conditions and non-compliance with environmental sanitation laws.

    The sealing off operations which was sequel to an order granted by the court and was led by Mrs. Elizabeth  Akinfemisoye, a Principal Environmental Health Officer (PEHO) who is also  in charge of prosecution in the Local Government.

    The  Environmental Officer who relied on section 1, 15, 16, 18 and 22 of the Ondo State Waste Management Enforcement and offenses provision regulation of year 2004, Ondo State Environmental Sanitation Law of 2004 and Environmental Sanitation Edict of 1986 in bringing the matter to the court.

    He said the owners of the affected houses contravened the relevant sections of the environmental law by their refusal to provide toilet facilities required for good healthy living and absence of prescribed dustbin in their dwelling places.

    Akinfemisoye,who also told the court that the house owners and the proprietor of the school, deliberately refused to heed persistent directives from the health department to provide latrine accommodation, insanity kitchen, refusal to renovate collapsed pit
    latrine and sanity bathroom which he said are dangerous and may constitute health hazard to members of the public.

    In her ruling,  the presiding Magistrate Fadeyi, said based on the argument and the evidence before the court, ordered for the immediate sealed-off of the affected buildings and thereby adjourned the case for further hearing.

  • Prof, 44 others held for violating Akwa Ibom sanitation law

    A University of Uyo (UNIUYO) professor and 44 others were arrested and prosecuted on Saturday by the Akwa Ibom State Government for contravening the state’s monthly sanitation.

    The sanitation holds every last Saturday of the month between 7 am and 10 am.

    The clean-up, which started last year by the Udom Emmanuel administration, was the initiative of the Commissioner for Environment, Dr Iniobong Essien.

    It is aimed at ensuring a clean environment through hygienic practices among residents.

    The 45 defaulters, who were picked up by sanitation monitoring teams within Uyo, the capital city, were charged at the Sanitation Court, chaired by Rebecca Akpan, with committing an offence under Section 4 (m), which is punishable under Section 38 of Akwa Ibom State Public Health Law, Cap 103, Volume 5 of 2000.

    The woman professor, whose name was not given to the media, was discharged and acquitted on self-recognisance.

    This followed her appeal to the mobile court that she was on her way to clean up her church after completing the sanitation at home.

    A few others, who were said to be students, were pardoned after convincing the court that they were on transit through the state and were not aware of the sanitation.

    Those who pleaded guilty were asked to pay a fine of N3,000 each. But about 20 others, who pleaded not guilty, were remanded in prison custody.

    They would be arraigned tomorrow by the government.

    A dry cleaner, Mr Aniebiet Michael, who was arrested on Oron Road at 8 am, said: “I came from church in the morning for the sanitation at my shop, off Oron Road, when I was arrested by the task force and brought to the Sanitation Court. I pleaded guilty when I saw the seriousness, and the magistrate fined me N3,000.

    “I did not have the money; so, I called my brother, who paid before the court closed at 2 pm.

    “Those who could not pay or were defiant, and pleaded not guilty – about 20 of them – were conveyed in a long bus to a prison.

    ‘’There they would stay till Tuesday, to either pay the fine – for those who were fined – or have their case against the state started – for those who pleaded not guilty.”

    Also, at the popular Uyo market, Dr Essien warned the traders to keep their stalls and shops clean or face sanctions.

    The commissioner advised them to get polythene bags to pack their waste and drop at designated points.

    He reminded them that the Emmanuel administration was determined to ensure that Akwa Ibom regained its glory as the cleanest state and its residents the cleanest.

  • Guinness partners Oxfam, others on water/sanitation projects

    Guinness Nigeria Plc, a subsidiary of Diageo, is partnering WaterAid, Oxfam and Concern Universal on new Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programmes this year. The aim is to advance rural sanitation and hygiene via access to safe water.

    The partners affirmed their commitment to building relationships that stretched beyond the commercial bottom line to the engagement of communities to make positive impact on their lives.

    At an event in Lagos to seal the agreement, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr Peter Ndegwa said: “At Guinness Nigeria Plc, we have a real commitment to providing safe water to Nigerian communities and have provided over 25 potable water facilities to communities across Nigeria under our Water of Life programme.  The partnerships we are speaking of today are testaments to that commitment. The NGOs we are working with have a proven track record for delivering highly impactful water, sanitation and hygiene programmes in Nigeria, and other countries of the world.

    “Their work has saved millions of lives, and created a brighter future for many. We are, therefore, confident that their expertise will help us improve the viability of our water and sanitation interventions, as well as the impact on beneficiaries.  Furthermore, it is our hope that our partnership with these NGOs inspires other stakeholders to join in our mission to help more Nigerians have access to clean water and improved hygiene.”

    Under terms of the partnership, Guinness Nigeria will provide funding that will enable the three non-governmental organisations (NGOs) deliver WASH programmes in three states across the country. The Guinness-Concern Universal will deliver the WASH programme in Cross River State; while the Guinness-OXFAM collaboration will apply in Benue State, and the Guinness-WaterAIDprogramme in Bauchi State.

    Through these partnerships, Guinness Nigeria will help to provide water to over 35,800 Nigerians.Each of these programmescomprise water facilities (bore holes and other ancillary facilities, while toilets will also be constructed for the WaterAid and Oxfam programmes).

    Concern Universal’s Country Director, Tim Connell, said the second Phase II of the ‘Safe Water and Improved Sanitation and Hygiene’ (SWISH) programme will provide year-round access to safe drinking water for 15 rural communities in three local government areas in Cross River State,while continuing to promote better sanitation and hygiene behaviour.

    He emphasised that supplying water to open defecation free (ODF) communities will have a direct positive impact on their health status. “As a result, SWISH II will seek to close the gap for Nigeria in fulfilling its national targets and to attaining the new sustainable global goals,” he stated.

  • ‘Make sanitation a lifestyle’

    Kuje stakeholders have urged residents to make clean environment a way of life. On January 30, a sanitation exercise was flagged off in the territory, a development which blends with the position of the District Head of Paseli community in Kuje, Mr Usman Yusuf.

    The community chief had stressed that residents should regularly keep their environments neat and tidy.  Only by so doing, can residents ward off outbreak of diseases, he said.

    Yusuf assured that he would use his position to sensitise the community on the need for proper waste disposal and the dangers of dirty environment to people.

    “The growing heaps of waste and refuse in some communities in Kuje are due to improper waste disposal and negligence by some residents in the area.

    “Despite the efforts by the Area Council in evacuating waste and cleaning the environment, some people have failed to comply with sanitation rules and regulations.

    “I will use my good palace to sensitise the community on proper waste disposal and the dangers of living in a dirty environment.

    “The council is also trying its best in terms of creating awareness on proper waste disposal but some residents have refused to do the right thing,” he said.

    The Chairman of Kuje Traders Association, Alahaji Isa Yunusa also emphasised that sanitation exercise should be regular, even daily in every home for healthy living.

    Yunusa said that sanitation exercise would be observed every Monday morning in Kuje Market by all shop owners to ensure general cleanliness of the market.

    “For the ministers to come to Kuje Area Council and demonstrate how to keep our market clean, I assure you that we will continue with that gesture.

    “Every Monday morning will be a routine activity by all shop owners to keep their corridors clean and I will ensure that it is obeyed.

    “From six to ten o clock on Mondays, no trader will open shop until you have sweep, mop and clean the front of your shop,’’ he warned.

    He warned against open defecation and the inability to build toilets by some landlords in the area, stressing that good approach to sanitation exercise is a panacea to health hazard in every society.

    “Landlords who build houses without toilet facilities have been warned to build them and failure to do that will be charged to court.

    “I advise the residents to stop the dumping of refuse in gutters and join hands with the FCT Administration in the development of the Area Councils,” Yunusa said.

     

  • Sanitation: Lagos seals off workers’ mosque over pollution

    Sanitation: Lagos seals off workers’ mosque over pollution

    The Lagos State Government on Saturday sealed off the popular Marina workers’ mosque over pollution resulting from improper disposal of sewage in the worship centre located in the highbrow Lagos Business District.

    The state’s Commissioner for environment, Dr Samuel Adejare, who gave the order while monitoring the October edition of the monthly environmental sanitation at the Lagos Mainland Local Government said the state government has declared a state of emergency on environmental nuisance across the state.

    Adejare warned market leaders, drivers and residents against improper waste disposal, explaining that the workers mosque was sealed off for discharging sewage into the drainage channel.

    Looking visibly enraged, the commissioner disclosed that the government has established a special command within the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) to ensure a cleaner environment in the Central Business District.

    He added that the declaration of zero tolerance in Lagos metropolis was to save the state from disaster resulting from unkempt environment, noting that all hands must be on deck to maintain and sustain a healthier environment for residents.

    He said: “Marina is our pride, asset and our heritage and we cannot allow anyone to mess it up. This mosque is a temporary building for worship, but we cannot tolerate improper waste disposal. There is no emotional thing attached to it. I have told them to close down the place.”

  • Nigeria’s water and sanitation challenges

    In an era that is witnessing the resurgence of Ebola and other contagious haemorrhagic viral diseases, having access to running water may well be considered a national security issue. Adequate water supply is a problem that faces most of us every day, almost regardless of income bracket. If you live in a rural area, you probably have to go and fetch water from a well, stream or river. If you’re wealthy enough to build your own house, you probably have to sink a borehole. If that house is in a sand-filled area, highbrow or not, you either have to drill past the 200 metre mark to get useable water or contend with the contaminated water available at shallower depths. The person who can solve the challenge of getting clean pipe-borne water into every household in Nigeria will be a national hero.

    The UNICEF sponsored Water and Sanitation Summary Sheet for Nigeria authored by the Water and Sanitation Monitoring Platform says, “Water and sanitation coverage rates in Nigeria are amongst the lowest in the world.” The summary goes on to say that “Nigeria is in the bottom 25 countries worldwide in terms of sanitation coverage.”

    Why don’t we have better access to running water? Why are we still struggling with a plumbing system the Romans figured out more than 2,000 years ago? How many of our children grow up saying, “I want to be a hydrologist”? Is water science even taught in our schools?

    I was reading a paper entitled, “The Enterprise of Fire Safety Services in Lagos, Nigeria”, by John M. Corbin, Professor Of Economics and Public Policy from the Andres Bello University in Santiago, Chile, when I came across his rather surprising, scathing, unnerving, grossly unflattering and somewhat one-sided description of Lagos. His withering invective takes up the entire introduction to his thesis and what stands out is his vitriol at his perceived notion of our standards of hygiene and sanitation. Cobin insinuates that most people practice open defecation and declares, “people have little concept of sanitation… bathrooms are a hygiene hazard and are very filthy almost without exception outside of five-star hotels and a few of the decent miniature malls.” One could say he is guilty of exaggeration and generalisation. It seems to escape his purview that many people who practice open defecation do so because they have no alternative, and many more people would love to wash their hands before eating or after using the toilet, but they simply don’t have the water with which to do so (let alone soap). Of course, there are individuals who wouldn’t properly use an available toilet or wash their hands even if they were paid, but such individuals, I dare say, exist all over the world and even in his own country.

    Currently, it is estimated that fewer than 34 per cent of Nigerians have access to adequate sanitation and less than 61 per cent have access to running water. We, as a nation, had a Millennium Development Goal target that by September, at least 63 per cent of us would have improved sanitation facilities and at least 75 per cent of our population would have access to improved drinking water. Improved drinking water is defined by UNICEF/WHO as including “household connections, public stand pipes, boreholes, protected wells and springs.” Improved sanitation is taken to mean “public sewer or septic system, pour-flush latrines, ventilated improved pit latrines and pit latrines with slabs.”

    Unfortunately, not only did we not achieve these goals, it appears we’ve regressed in the improved drinking water category, partly due to population increase nationwide. (Major cities like Lagos and Abuja face further pressure due to the increased rate of urban migration which is putting a strain on efforts to provide and sustain robust water supply for residents of those cities). We appear to be making marginal headway in providing improved sanitation coverage across the country but currently it would seem that our best is not good enough. According to Water and Sanitation Monitoring Platform (WSMP), “much more effort and resources are clearly required to accelerate sanitation coverage rates both in rural and urban areas.” The report goes on to say, “there are clear indications that coverage is deteriorating even as significant investments are made in the sector, especially for water supply.” In other words, we are not building water infrastructure fast enough and we can do a better job in maintaining what we already have.

    In 2006, the National Bureau of Statistics conducted a survey on Core Welfare Indicators across all the 774 local governments in Nigeria including the FCT. The aggregated findings show that water distribution coverage varies by zone with the South-west having the widest comparative distribution of piped water and the North-east having the most limited coverage. With respect to the availability of adequate sanitation facilities as a percentage of population figures, the NBS survey shows the South-east leading the way and the North-east having to catch up with the rest of the zones. In state by state comparisons, Lagos, Oyo, Kwara and Osun had the widest distribution of improved water access and Enugu, Anambra, Gombe and Taraba had the greatest need to improve their ability to provide access to water for their residents. In terms of sanitation, Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Anambra and Imo had the most effective networks of sanitation facilities in comparison to the other states of the federation. Bauchi, Kogi, Ebonyi and Bayelsa had the most work to do to be at par or better than the all the other states. By now, the rankings may have changed.

    Going forward, more attention needs to be given to the rural areas so that those who dwell there have at least the same level of access to safe water and hygienic sanitation facilities as those who live in the cities. The WSMP advises that there is a “need to enhance co-ordination and institutional collaboration in the water and sanitation sector to sustain gains of the past and maximise benefits.” The Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Agriculture and the MDG office have all made efforts to alleviate water problems, but more needs to be done. The UNDP says, “There is a major challenge in translating substantial public investments in water into effective access. This requires more involvement by communities to identify local needs, and better planning to deliver holistic and sustainable solutions.”

    A representative of a particular NGO was being shown round a certain local community school. When the tour got to an area near the perimeter of the fence, the representative was asked to be careful where she walked because of “shot put” bags thrown in that vicinity. What, pray tell, is “shot put”? Plastic bags employed as vessels for the receiving and disposing of human waste, which are then thrown in the general vicinity of the nearest refuse heap. The pupils resort to this method because the condition of the lavatories is so degraded that it is hazardous to life and limb. Those toilets started falling into disrepair when there was a problem with the water supply. Rebuilding the broken toilets or installing new ones would yield only short term benefits (and the new facilities risk the same fate as their predecessors) unless the underlying water supply problem is solved. The conundrum goes even deeper than that. Even if the apparatus for running water with which to flush toilets is provided to the school, water can only be pumped when there is electricity (assuming the school is wired to the power grid). So, do you provide a generator to the school? How will they pay for the fuel to run the generator? Or do you install solar panels? At what cost? A “patch-patch” approach to the problem is better than no approach at all, but it would be cost ineffective and of limited usefulness. Supporting the work of the Water Sector Reform Program (the brain child of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources) may be a better place to start.

    The old MDG 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7 targets couldn’t be achieved partially because of the water problem. There is an inverse correlation between the availability of water and levels of extreme poverty; child mortality; maternal un-wellness; rampant diseases and environmental degradation. Seven of the new 17 Sustainable Development Goals (namely, 1, 3, 6, 10, 13, 14, and 15) may not be achieved without better access to consistently safe water (with its knock-on effect of bringing about better sanitation and better hygiene practices).

    There are certain things that all human beings are going to do from the day they are born till the day they go to meet their Maker, such as breathe, eat, drink, expel waste, etc. Thus, we cannot run away from the need to have ubiquitous, functioning sanitation facilities equipped with running water. We don’t want a situation where 10-20 years from now, we’re drowning in our own filth or the fish from the waters in our area can no longer be consumed because of contamination.

    Those preaching the message of sustainable sanitation practices need to spend less time denying that there is a problem, less time vilifying those who have no choice but to use the bathroom in the open, and more time building sustainable sanitation facilities with running water. If you want to “promote behavioural change to discourage open defecation”, you need to join hands to fix the public water system locally, state-wide and nationally, so that when government, NGOs, institutions or private individuals build community toilets, those toilets can actually work.

     

    • Ms. Aboderin is a Member of the Institute of Directors

  • Akwa Ibom prosecutes 44 sanitation defaulters

    The Akwa Ibom State government at the weekend prosecuted 44 sanitation law offenders.

    During last Saturday’s sanitation, the 44 were caught flouting the state’s sanitation law.

    They were arrested by the monitoring team at various parts of Uyo, the state capital, and taken to the sanitation court.

    Some of them were accused of wandering or engaging in other things during the sanitation hours, from 7am to 10am.

    Rosemary Monday and Joy Daniel Essien, two of the defaulters, were accused of wandering and plating hair at a saloon during the sanitation hours.

    They pleaded guilty and promised to take the sanitation more seriously.

    The sanitation tribunal, presided over by Magistrate Mrs Winifred Umoh-Andy, sentenced them to two months imprisonment or payment of N2,000 fine each.

  • Lagos insists law on sanitation still in force

    The Lagos State Government has reiterated that the law on the monthly environmental sanitation and restriction of movement within the period is still in force.

    It enjoins residents of the state to ensure total compliance with the law and keep their surroundings clean.

    Offenders, reiterated the state government, would be made to face the penalties as stipulated in the environmental sanitation law.

    Stating the position of government was the deputy governor of the state, Dr. Ididat Adebule, while monitoring the monthly exercise at Ikorodu West Local Council Development Area.

    Addressing residents of Ori-Okuta, Agbede and Idiroko communities within the LCDA, the deputy governor charged them to ensure regular cleaning of their surroundings and obey all the environmental laws of the state, assuring that government will continue to provide basic infrastructures for the people.

    She said: “We are here to see things for ourselves within Ikorodu West LCDA and I want to implore our people to be committed to the issue of the environment and ensure adequate cleaning of their surroundings at all times.

    “We have noted your complaints and I want to assure you that appropriate government agencies would be mobilised to address them, but you must also be ready to take ownership of these facilities once they are in place and ensure their adequate care of them.”

    The deputy governor added that the state government remains committed to making life better for the citizens of the state, stating that the government is already compiling list of projects to be embarked upon across all the 57 local governments and LCDAs in the state, while assuring that the people would soon begin to feel the impact of the administration.

     

  • Sanitation holds tomorrow

    The monthly environmental sanitation will hold tomorrow in Lagos State  between 7am and 10am.  There will be restriction of movement during the exercise, the government said yesterday.

    Ministry of Environment Permanent Secretary Hakeem Ogunbambi, an engineer, urged Lagosians to tidy their surroundings including drain and canals.

    He said the cleaning and maintenance of drainage channels were part of government’s strategy to reduce flood.

    Ogunbambi advised Lagosians to desist from indiscriminate dumping of refuse on drainage channels , adding that they should not also compromise drainage alignment, such as building and erection of structures on drainage setbacks, among others.

    A statement quoted him as saying:”It is important to have a clean and hygienic environment to prevent germs and diseases to encourage investment opportunities.

    “Residents should desist from patronising cart pushers and other acts which violate the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) policy.

    He assured residents that law enforcement agencies including the Police, LAWMA,  Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) officials have been mobilised to enforce the sanitation Laws.