The recent issuance of a 48-hour ultimatum by Akwa Ibom Government to relevant authorities in the state to evacuate refuse along Uyo Village Road is one directive many people hail as a positive one.
This was because the ‘mountainous’ refuse helped to hinder human and vehicular movement as trucks which could not access the ravine always dump refuse along the site as well as caused health hazard to residents and passers-by along the road.
For four consecutive years (back-to-back basis), Akwa Ibom won and retained the coveted trophy as the cleanest state in the South-South geopolitical zone and in 36 states of the federation.
The National Coordinator of Cleanup Nigeria, an international non-governmental organization, Prince Baba Owoh, who announced this November last year at the public presentation of the State of the Nigeria Environment Report 2021 in Abuja, cited Ebonyi and Bauchi states as second and third respectively and Borno as the last.
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Many expected the state to sustain this gain because cleanliness seen as next to Godliness matches the toga of Akwa Ibom named after God.
Contrary to this, the state started sinking into abyss in terms of wanton refuse dumping and abandonment both by the agency and the people as well.
In fact, the upsurge in refuse in Uyo, the state capital and other local government headquarters poses eye sore to show the negligence of duty by Environmental Protection and Waste Management Agency in clearing the refuse and decadence the state sank.
It is not a fairy tale that most strategic places in the state capital are turned to refuse bins by the residents or passers-by.
From Abak, Oron, Four Lanes, Ikot Ekpene, Udo Udoma Avenue, Osongama Road, Sylvanus Okon Avenue to other adjoining streets, Uyo could be described as the filth capital of Nigeria.
From one local government headquarters to another, the story of filth and overgrown weeds even along major access to their areas and pavement could not be waved.
It appears that either the government does not recognize that one of its sacred duties is rendering social service to the subjects hence the need to fight and defeat refuse heaps in different corners.
Unfortunately, most residents are unconscious of environment cleanliness otherwise how would people dump refuse along water channels and even at unauthorized places to create health problem to others.
The task of keeping Akwa Ibom clean is a wake-up call for the state government and a task for the people to rise in unison to improve the worsening state of refuse disposal in the state.
We welcome the idea of the Waste Management Agency Chairman, Prince Ikim noting that Uyo being a cosmopolitan city generates over 18,000 tons of waste daily which is being dumped at the Uyo village road dump site.
We equally bought into his call for the provision of a larger sanitary dump site outside the state capital with a conveyor belt to constantly recycle the waste.
In most climes, waste is money as many countries and some states have recycled wastes into a source of energy. Let the state government emulate this wealth-creation strategy to hasten pumping out ‘unwanted’ materials from the roads and streets to avoid possible epidemic outbreak.
We want to call on local government authorities to wake up by employing labourers (as done in the 80s) to clear weeds along roads and streets as well as employ more sanitary inspectors to assist to maintaining cleanliness in their areas of jurisdiction.
Let us call on the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly to quickly pass the State Environmental Protection Bill which has already passed the first and the second readings into law for speedy evacuation and disposal of refuse from the major roads and water channels.
It is our onerous duty to join hands with the state government to keep Akwa Ibom clean.
