Wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, has appealed to residents to be patient over delays in refuse evacuation across the state, saying the government is working on a new strategy to improve waste management.
Sanwo-Olu made the appeal on Saturday while monitoring the monthly environmental sanitation exercise in Mafoluku, Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area.
Residents in the area had complained about delays by Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators in evacuating refuse, as well as increases in waste collection charges.
Responding, the governor’s wife attributed part of the challenge to operational difficulties faced by waste operators at dumpsites, where trucks reportedly spend days waiting to discharge their loads.
“The turn-around time for the trucks to dump the dirt at the dumpsite, it takes a long time. They are on the queue for like two, three days before they dump it and then come out, because it’s just one way,” she said.
She said the state government was working to develop an alternative approach to waste disposal and management.
“I know the government is working very hard to ensure that we have another strategy and approach to our waste disposal and waste management,” she said.
Describing the situation as a teething problem, Sanwo-Olu urged residents to bear with the government while efforts were being made to address the challenges.
“Our prayer to our people is that they should be patient. We know we have this teething problem; we will overcome our teething problem with time.
“They should just be patient,” she pleaded.
She assured residents that stakeholders were working together to improve waste management and keep Lagos clean.
“With time all hands are on deck. They’ve gone back to the drawing table, and are trying very hard to ensure that Lagos is clean, because Lagos definitely has to be clean,” she added.
Assessing the exercise in Mafoluku, the governor’s wife commended residents for bagging their refuse instead of dumping it beside drainage channels.
“For the Mafoluku people, they’ve done very well this morning. I can see that they’ve bagged most of their waste, unlike some places where they will collect the dirt and leave it beside the gutters,” she said.
She, however, called for improved waste separation at source, noting that recyclable materials were still being mixed with general waste.
“The importance of separating the waste is very important. We noticed that we need to advocate more on that, because some of the waste we saw today, we had bottles with dry waste, wet waste,” she said.
She also commended the participation of schoolchildren in the exercise, describing it as a strategy to instil environmental consciousness in the younger generation.
On the overall sanitation situation,
Sanwo-Olu acknowledged that Lagos had yet to attain the desired level of cleanliness but said public awareness was improving.
“Six months that we started, we haven’t got to where we want to be. It’s a work in progress. But I can see that the awareness is there. People are conforming,” she said.
She disclosed that the Ministry of Environment would soon introduce competitions and awards for the cleanest communities to sustain residents’ participation.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Head of Service, Mr Olabode Agoro, who led the monitoring exercise on Lagos Mainland, said residents’ participation had improved since the monthly sanitation exercise began six months ago.
“The essence of today is to continue encouraging people to come out. We started six months ago. This is the sixth one we are doing the sanitation exercise and the turnout of residents is getting better. It could be better,” he said.
Agoro said the government wanted residents to take greater responsibility for keeping their environment clean rather than waiting for officials to arrive before commencing sanitation activities.
“We realized in the last two months that people are not proactive. They wait for us to come before they start cleaning their environment. What we want to see is that by the time we come we should see people already outside cleaning their environment,” he said.
He added that environmental sanitation had become a permanent part of the state’s efforts to promote public health.
“We want people to realize that environmental sanitation has come to stay in Lagos. It is not a one-off thing. It has come to stay,” Agoro said.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment, Engr. Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, said public participation had increased significantly since the exercise began.
“When we started, the awareness wasn’t this much. But today, you see people turning up, coming out to clean their environment, right from inside their house to the streets. And that is to tell you there’s progress,” he said.
Rotimi-Akodu urged residents to embrace waste separation from source, noting that recyclable materials such as plastics and paper could generate income.
“We’re encouraging our residents to imbibe the culture of separating their waste from the source, right from their houses. Lagos is really moving forward on that,” he added.
