The liquid, solid waste task in Maiduguri waits for government
Landan Ciki is one of such densely populated areas in Maimusari ward of Jere Local Government Area of Borno State. It is inhabited by low-income earners and geographically fused with parts of Maiduguri metropolis, which makes it more or less part of MMC. About two years ago, the state government constructed a six kilometer road […]
Landan Ciki is one of such densely populated areas in Maimusari ward of Jere Local Government Area of Borno State. It is inhabited by low-income earners and geographically fused with parts of Maiduguri metropolis, which makes it more or less part of MMC.
About two years ago, the state government constructed a six kilometer road and drainage in the area to provide access road and means of evacuating liquid wastes in the area. But rather than solve the problem, another one emanated from poor maintenance culture of both government and residents and was worsened by the indiscriminate disposal of wastes by residents. These caused the drainages to be blocked, smelly servomg as a breeding ground for disease causing organisms.
It is in the light of the above that a cooperative established four years ago in the area under the name of Fahimta Youths Progressive Association (FAYOPA) has decided to serve as a vanguard and volunteer to serve its community. At the moment, FAYOPA has 170 members across ages, sex and status, but mostly comprising traders, business persons and unemployed graduates. Registered with the Borno State Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Youth Empowerment and operating from a one-room rented office, the association funds its operations from weekly membership contributions and contributions from well-meaning individuals and philanthropists.
The word ‘Fahimta’ in Hausa literally means understanding or cooperation and with shovels, fork shovels, rake, hand gloves, rain boots and a few wheel barrows, the group is using community strength to cooperate amongst themselves to tackle their problems of health and environmental sanitation. Every Saturday between 8 am and 12 noon, they meet to launch their weekly drainage cleaning exercises. Their focus, probably informed by the poor hygiene of their surroundings could prevent infestation by mosquitoes and bacteria and avert infections of malaria, cholera, diarrhea, tuberculosis, among others.
“To register as a member of the association, you must agree to abide by our constitution. You then fill a form and submit two passport photographs and pay a registration fee of N200. The primary objective of setting up this association is to engage in community self-help projects, some of which include: cleaning burial grounds, sweeping the streets and cleaning the gutters,” said Jida Adam, President of FAYOPA.
Symbolically, the FAYOPA logo is embedded with the image of a horse and according to Adam, it was meant to identify with the notable characteristics of the horse which includes its speed, strength, endurance, efficiency and cleverness, all of which makes the horse capable of establishing strong social associations with its kind. It is these characteristics that the association seeks to transfer to its members and employ for their benefit.
Residents say the association hasbeen helpful in many ways. One resident said that during one of their excavation exercises, the group retrieved over 300 live ammunitions in the gutters believed to have been hidden during the Boko Haram crisis by members of the sect who inhabited the area and took them to the Gwange Police Station.
Another youth, 27-year-old Mohammed Muhammad who sells motorcycle spare parts said he is not a member of the cooperative but he and many others appreciate their efforts because they have greatly improved the sanitary condition of the area but not without setbacks. “The major hindrance to the success of the good Samaritans is lack of cooperation and understanding. People do not come out en mass to participate in the cleaning exercise. When they come to houses whose liquid wastes are channeled to the gutters, people do not cooperate. They refuse to contribute financially to offset the costs incurred. At times, commercial water vendors whose activities at the boreholes and water dams help to fill up the drainages with water, also refuse to help in clearing the drainages.” Muhammad added that in some cases, the non-compliance degenerates into heated arguments and quarrels, disrupting the good work of the cooperative.
Alhaji Babagana, however, thinks that government’s involvement will enhance their productivity. According to him, lack of cooperation among members of the area, which Muhammad complained about, would be solved if “government can support them with additional manpower and equipment to evacuate the dirt each time the group is at work.”
Undoubtedly, the greatest challenge to the association is their inability to evacuate the excavated dirt from the gutters. Idris Nuhu Waziri who runs a computer typesetting, printing and publishing outfit serves as secretary of the association. He said, “during our early exercises, we circulated information within the community and we promised that if everyone comes out to clean his surrounding, we shall contact the sanitation board to evacuate the dirt. They came out en mass and kept the environment clean. We went to the Borno State Environmental Protection Agency (BOSEPA) and requested for a vehicle for the evacuation. An official of the agency said there was no fuel and we promised to provide N5,000 for fueling the truck. To my amazement, one of the supervisors said the truck would require a drum of diesel (over 200 liters) which could cost about N25,000. And we told him we could not afford such amount. So he requested that we should communicate to the community that they should come to evacuate the dirt when their vehicle has been fueled. Till this moment, the refuse has not been evacuated.”
In response, Alhaji Abba Aji Agid, the General Manager of BOSEPA, acknowledged that the association came to them unofficially without any written document, after removing the polyethylene bags and dirt from the surface of the water in the drainage and leaving them in small piles around the gutter. He said, “they came to us requesting a truck to evacuate the dirt. But as an institution of government which requires planning, they ought to have informed us of their activities before hand so that we can plan for them, advice them on how to go about it and assist them with our labourers or equipment. The year has just ended and government has just approved the budget. They have to understand that for us to undertake such exercises, we need financial approvals. They cannot just assume that we would have fuel in our trucks or that the trucks would be in good condition or that our labourers and staff would not have other commitments. But I have already discussed the issue with the Commissioner of Environment and he has assured me that the Landan Ciki problem will be handled and government will soon award contracts for the excavation of other drainages in the state.”