Residents cry out as Lagos culvert turns to dumpsite

Residents of Aboru town, a Lagos suburb, have cried out over the stench that oozes from the refuse dumped on the dilapidated culvert on the canal at the Boulder Junction amid the recent cholera outbreak in the state. Speaking with our correspondent, the residents expressed concerns over the indiscriminate waste disposal, saying the perpetrators dumped […]

Residents of Aboru town, a Lagos suburb, have cried out over the stench that oozes from the refuse dumped on the dilapidated culvert on the canal at the Boulder Junction amid the recent cholera outbreak in the state.

Speaking with our correspondent, the residents expressed concerns over the indiscriminate waste disposal, saying the perpetrators dumped the waste at night.

Aminat Olufolani, a corn seller close to the canal, expressed fear over the dilapidated culvert, lamenting that residents were always at the mercy of floods when there was a downpour.

Aminat said, “This gutter has been here for a long time. There was a time the government promised to help repair it, but we are waiting for them. Whenever it rains, we are faced with floods. It disturbs and it affects us and makes the road more deplorable.

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“We are not pleased with the way they dump refuse here. People are not meant to dump their refuse here.”

Lanre Olanrewaju decried the unavailability collectors to clear waste at the site.

He said, “The LAWMA officers used to come every three days to clear the refuse. The LAWMA officials used to come to park it whenever this place gets filled, but it has been over two months since we have seen them.”

He pleaded with LAWMA officers to help get rid of the waste, adding that it is obstructing both human and vehicular movement.

He, therefore, advised the state government to provide waste collection at strategic points where residents could dump their waste.

However, another resident, Nicholas Okwukwe, said, “Let me not blame it on the government totally. There are some dirty people living in Lagos. Sometimes I have arguments with the owner of my house. Every time he collects money for waste collection but the house still looks unkempt.

“In my place, I brought an idea: let’s get a drum so that you can put your dirty stuff away instead of putting it in a sack before the PSP people come. You are the one living in the environment; make it clean.”

He further said, “When people dump, these PSP should come and carry it. Once in a while part of their work should be to explain to people about indiscriminate waste disposal.”

Okwukwe does not support the return of the mandatory monthly sanitation exercise from 7am to 10am, saying the period crippled the country’s economy.

He said, “We are matured; all these things are for the past. Every economy needs to grow, and it needs funds to run. So, those four hours should not be reconsidered for general cleaning.”