Osogbo: Community under hills of dirt

A visitor to Oleyo, a sprawling community along Sabo road, and less than a kilometre from the palace of the Ataoja of Osogboland and the Osogbo Central mosque, would hardly miss the hills of refuse which usually emit thick smoke when  the residents set them on fire. The community is located behind the Ita-Akogun Global […]

A visitor to Oleyo, a sprawling community along Sabo road, and less than a kilometre from the palace of the Ataoja of Osogboland and the Osogbo Central mosque, would hardly miss the hills of refuse which usually emit thick smoke when  the residents set them on fire. The community is located behind the Ita-Akogun Global Venture of the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC). For a visitor, it would be difficult to fathom how the residents of this area survive in such an environment, considering the stench from faeces and the deluge of refuse that make up the community.
Thousands of people residing in this disease-prone community live, trade, dine and wine, give birth, raise their children and perform all other activities of normal life, in the midst of dirt.
Of course, the residents of Oleyo community are not contented with the life they live, but it seems that they are helpless. They told our correspondent who visited the area, that despite the fact that Governor Rauf Aregbesola performed impressively in his first term in office, the administration neglected Oleyo community. But, the Osun State current Deputy Governor, Mrs Titi Laoye Tomori and the incumbent Deputy Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Barrister Akintunde Adegboye hail from this community. Even though this situation does not stop the residents of Oleyo community from engaging in socioeconomic activities, these people are not unaware of the implication of the pungent odour on their health.
A community leader, Pa Ahmed Olaniyi, told Daily Trust that the expanse of land which people turned to a refuse dump, was once a stream which had  been in existence since 1960. He said people of Oleyo and its neighbourhood used to fetch water from Oleyo stream in those days, before the spring was blocked with dirt. Pa Olaniyi lamented that successive administrations in Osun State have neglected Oleyo since 1999. He said during the military regime, a former military administrator built a public toilet at Oleyo, and added that the toilet has since filled up and is not fit for use anymore.
“This refuse dump was a stream. We used to fetch water from the stream and the water was medicinal. When people who are ill drink from the water, it would heal them. Oleyo has been here since 1960 and we were drinking the water from stream. Nobody knew the actual source of the water, but we guessed that the water was emerging from beneath the rock. The water is not coming out again owing to the refuse here, because nature hates dirt and filth. Government officials usually come here to inspect the site. The Federal government once sent some people here to inspect it, and they told us that they would fence it to stop people from dumping refuse here, but they have not done this. The odour is killing us. We expect the Deputy Governor, Mrs Titi Laoye Tomori who is from this community, to assist us. The refuse has blocked the stream and we are now suffering from dearth of potable water.”

For Pa Raimi Iyanda whose  house lies  close to the refuse dump, when the refuse dump overflows, his house would be submerged and that explains why he usually sets the refuse on fire. Pa Iyanda wants the Osun State government to clear the dump site, and prevent people from further dumping refuse there. He explained that because of tradition, he could not abandon the house, being the first male child of his father.
“It is unfortunate that we are not lucky here in Oleyo Community, despite the fact that the Deputy Governor, Mrs Laoye Tomori and the Deputy Speaker Akintunde Adegboye are from this area. When governor
Aregbesola brought the swamp caterpillar and cleared waterways in many parts of the state, we thought they would come here, but they neglected us and we do not know our crime. We want the government to help us clear this dumpsite. We also want the government to post the environmental task force to this place ,so that people would be prevented from dumping refuse here.  Aregbesola tried but he has not done this one for us. I usually set fire to the refuse, otherwise it would have entered my room.
People in this area are not dumping their refuse in government refuse vans. They prefer to dump it here. Our people often fall sick because of the bad odour.”
During  our correspondents visit to Oleyo, a passer-by, Mr Clement Enitan, though covering his nose with a  handkerchief, managed to speak with this reporter “If this is happening in the heart of Osogbo, capital of the state, then, what will happen in the rural communities in this state. Government needs to do something about it on time. Also, people of this area should learn to do certain things for themselves before government would remember them. They must be able to prevent those dumping refuse here, even if it requires getting them arrested. Any reasonable human being would know that it is not appropriate to dump refuse in front of other peoples’ houses. Honestly, something must be done to avoid the outbreak of diseases here.”
Mr Moses Olaosebikan, Director of Water and Environmental Sanitation (WES) in Osogbo Local Government, says lack of adequate manpower has hindered his department in  tackling  the problem of the careless dumping of refuse. He said the Local Government has an approved dump site at Oke-Osun, but the LG has no refuse disposal van to take the refuse to Oke-Osun.
“We are doing our best in the area of environmental sanitation. We usually inspect homes in all the communities here to ensure that our people are complying with environmental rules and regulations. There is an environmental edict that empowers us to inspect homes, and prosecute offenders of environmental regulations. However, the number of environmental officers and labourers that we have in this LG, are  not enough to cover the whole local government. As a result of this, we only go to places based on complaints made by residents and concerned individuals. We have visited Oleyo and we are not unaware of the situation there. We shall take further steps  on environmental sanitation in the  community.
“We are committed to ensuring a neat and clean environment, but we are constrained owing to lack of men and materials required. We are not relenting. We are collaborating with the Osun Waste Management Agency, and the agency is assisting us to collect and take refuse to the approved dump sites. We are also collaborating with the private sector on a refuse producer paid approach, in which people that generate  refuse are made to pay to owners of refuse disposal vans for collection and disposal of their waste. We are also enforcing environmental regulations and we are prosecuting offenders. Between January and November last  year, we generated 154,000  Naira for the local government from fines paid by offenders of environmental regulations,” Moses explained.
Daily Trust also met the Director of Osun Waste Management Agency,  Alhaji Ganiyu Oyeladun, who explained why it was difficult for the state government to address the problem of dirt at Oleyo community. According to him, “Oleyo has been a difficult terrain because of the  traditions  of the people of that community. Government made effort at a time to clear the dump site ,and we succeeded in removing the refuse there. But the people of the area later said removing the refuse from the dump site ,amounts to desecration of their tradition.

Oyeladun said the case of Oleyo is not special “Oleyo is not the only indigenous refuse dump site in Osun state. While we have been able to remove others, the case of Oleyo is different. The state government has all the facilities required to tackle the problem of dirt at Oleyo, but we cannot do anything without the understanding and cooperation of the people of that community. We all know that under democracy, a government cannot rule by coercion. If the people of Oleyo want government to come in and tackle the problem of dirt there, the community should send an emissary to our office.We will make the necessary arrangement and  move in immediately.”