The untidy face of Jalingo

The Taraba State Ministry of Environment and Urban Development has its office at the centre of the town, but even this part of the town is also unclean. There is no waste bin anywhere along Hammanruwa Way and residents dispose waste anywhere and anyhow they want. Just beside the fence of the ministry on the […]

The Taraba State Ministry of Environment and Urban Development has its office at the centre of the town, but even this part of the town is also unclean. There is no waste bin anywhere along Hammanruwa Way and residents dispose waste anywhere and anyhow they want. Just beside the fence of the ministry on the left hand side is a heap of refuse. The walls of the fence of the ministry is itself an eyesore, with speckled outlook, it is like the skin of somebody inflicted with eczema.

Daniel Terlumun, a resident of Jalingo, lamented that the ministry is not living up to its responsibility of waste disposal and maintaining a clean, healthy environment. “The town looks dirty and one wonders if there is a ministry of environment and urban planning in the state. One thing is for sure, it is either its efforts are insignificant or the waste churned out by residents out-weigh the efforts of the ministry. Clearly, the number of waste bins distributed around the town are grossly inadequate as most of them are perpetually full to the brim and waste litter all around them. In other locations of the town, even on main streets, the waste bins are not there at all,” he said.

Hammanruwa Way is the main road within Jalingo town but it is littered with waste if you walk its whole length, from Roadblock to Sabonline. Mechanics ply their trade in every available space on the way. The grease and black dirt they produce covers the ground and walls around their sheds. Scrap materials also clutter around and the whole place looks messy.

The bricklayers too lay their cement blocks unhindered, anywhere they want, leaving piles of chipped and broken blocks littered around the town. The timber dealers too enjoy this liberty, and set up timber sheds in between banks. The slick appearances of the banks do not discourage them at all, even as it contrasts sharply with the shabby outlook of the sheds. They are only bothered about scratching a living. They does not know a thing about a clean environment.

And as if to challenge the environment ministry, a welder piles a heap of rubbish a few metres away from the gate of the ministry. Iron rods, sheets of steel, plastic pipes and every conceivable waste that a welder can generate covers an area close to a newly built plaza and an abandoned state library. Every day, except Sundays, the welder ignites his old welding machine to a start. The machine then spurts out thick dark smoke and makes spattering noise from morning till evening, polluting the environment with irritating noise and suffocating gas emissions.

Kona street links Mayo Dassa to Roadblock, the gateway of the town but walking down the street, rusted vehicle parts litter the ground and a thick black coat of dirt covers the asphalted part of the street, while further down the shabby street, a stinking heap of refuse covers a large section of the street and motorists have to meander from the dump before they can pass.

Felicia Jato lives on that street and she told our correspondent that she is used to the dirt and the only time she saw a clean street was when she visited Abuja last year, December. She said if Jalingo town can be kept clean like some parts of Abuja, the federal capital city, the residents of Jalingo will be proud of their town.  “If you live in a clean and healthy environment, you will be proud of your environment. So we want the government to make us proud of Jalingo,” she said.

At Burba Road in Magami, one of the social enclaves of the town, the gutters on both sides of the street are stuffed with waste. Even a drainage channel is soaked with refuse, pervading the surrounding environment with nauseating odour.

At Gidin Dorowa, perhaps, the dirtiest part of the town, you see a sprawling ghetto with shanties housing prostitutes and delinquents. This part of the town is always noisy, crowded and saturated with cigarette smoke and acrid smell oozing out of the brimming gutters.

But ministry officials blame the dirty environment on residents. The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Urban Development, Alhaji Umar Julde, told our correspondent in his office that the attitude of the people is a major challenge to managing and maintaining an urban centre. He said the ministry has made spirited efforts to keep the environment clean but the people don’t seem to appreciate the efforts of the ministry.

According to him, enough waste bins have been placed at strategic points so that residents can dispose of their waste, so he does not see any reason why the environment should be dirty. But he however, said the ministry will step up its enlightenment campaigns on the local media so as to reawaken the consciousness of the public to keep the environment clean.

Alhaji Julde added that a Task Force on Environment has just been put in place and they are working to keep the environment clean.