A case for the cleanest streets on earth

I greatly abhor seeing someone throw a bottle, can or any other form of rubbish on the streets. I hate it more if they are in a car and even more if they have to go through the trouble of winding down their window glass before throwing it because their car has air-conditioning.

 

I also dislike hearing those same people ranting that our streets are full of litter or trying to defend themselves by saying there is nothing wrong with littering because everyone else is doing it.

 

Don’t they know that Islam places great emphasis on cleanliness of the body, clothes and environment? And don’t they know “Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and those who keep themselves pure and clean?” And have they never heard of the Hadith of the Prophet (SAW) compiled by Muslims in which He (SAW) says: “Cleanliness is half of faith and ‘Alhamdulillah’ fills the scale…?”

 

Wikipedia says littering: “consists of waste products such as containers, papers, wrappers or faeces which have been disposed of without consent.” Concerning the life cycle, it says “Litter can remain for extended periods of time before it eventually biodegrades with some items made of condensed glass, styrofoam or plastic possibly remaining in the environment for over a million years.” 

 

One of the major effects stated is ‘Visual Pollution,’ a term which is given to “unattractive and man-made visual elements of a vista, a landscape or any other thing that a person does not feel comfortable to look at.” Another effect is that it creates a breeding ground for disease-causing insects such as mosquitoes and rodents. (Mosquitoes? The next time you have malaria, don’t just blame the Discos, but also blame those littering our environment.)

Wikipedia states some of the solutions to littering such as the provision of litter bins and a system of picking them up. Another solution is the provision of legislation that will address the problem and imposing fines on people who refuse to abide by the laws.

 

Studying these effects and solutions carefully, we will realise that they all apply to Nigeria. It is my belief, however, that the solutions cannot work until some Nigerian problems are first solved. 

 

These are: bad governance and the discontinuity of projects; the careless attitude of Nigerians to the effects of things, such as pollution, on their lives; the issue of appointments not based on merit, but based on the contributions a person made to the campaign(s) of the governor, president or their party; and the belief Nigerians have that the government should single-handedly solve all problems.

 

One thing is certain: Governors of many states have tried battling the problem of littered streets. The governors of Lagos and Cross River are outstanding in making their states clean. That was what I noticed in 2009 when I went to both states. The two states looked similar to me and this was not because they are both coastal states or because they are both in the south, but because they were surprisingly very neat compared to other states. 

I was particularly surprised at how neat Lagos was as that was not my first time of being there and I knew how dirty the streets of Lagos used to be.

In Kano, the previous administration employed sweepers and bought trucks for refuse disposal through a refuse eradication programme. Surprisingly, the present administration didn’t take those trucks off the streets to frustrate the programme like it has frustrated almost all other projects initiated by the previous administration. It has also provided waste bins on major roads but there’s still so much litter on our streets. 

And how can there not be when the trucks are sometimes so filled up that litter starts dropping off before it reaches the place it is to be disposed of? How can there not be when even while the sweepers are sweeping, others, including top officialss, are busy winding down their car windows trying to drop litter in the streets? 

Yes, we have to do our part. An aunt of mine is doing hers through the ‘Green World Protection and Awareness Initiative.’ From what I understand, the initiative is to make us knowledgeable on how to keep our environments clean and protect the nature (green world) around us, and also make us aware of the effects of pollution. I also saw someone doing ‘part of his part’ the other day when he steered his car to the side of the road just so he would be able to throw something in a litter bin. Are we doing ours? If not, what are we waiting for?

 

Our part comprises two roles. The first is to dispose of our own litter properly. While doing that, we have to think more about the fact that just properly throwing it is making a difference and less about whether or not that difference made is noticeable. The second role is to try our best to make others properly dispose of their own litter. Based on the authority and power we have, we can do that through one or both options. If we are less powerful, then we can make them understand that what they are doing is wrong and try to convince them to do the right thing. 

If we do not have any form of power nor authority to take any of these two options, then we have to hate the act of littering the streets by heart. And we should do nothing less than that.

It is only after trying our best to do our part that we can pray for leaders who will ensure the top men are qualified, put legislation in place and fine those that are only complaining even while they are making their own contributions to the problem. And if our prayers are answered, we will probably have the cleanest streets on earth!