Chijioke Iremeka
Public health and environmental and experts have said that the Lagos State Government must return to the mandatory monthly sanitation exercise to promote healthy living and a clean environment.
They decried the indiscriminate and improper disposal of waste in drainages and by the roadsides, stating that it contributed to various health issues and an untidy environment which diminished the natural beauty of the state and disrupted the fragile balance that sustains life on earth.
The experts further asserted that the state needed to implement measures to ensure a clean environment to prevent disease outbreaks and reduce the risk of exposure to harmful pollutants and contaminants.
The experts’ call for the return of the sanitation exercise is based on public observations and a recent statement by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who expressed concern about the current environmental filthiness in the state.
On July 14, during a tree planting exercise, Sanwo-Olu had hinted that the state may reintroduce the monthly environmental sanitation due to what he described as the ‘appalling state’ of uncleanliness observed in communities across the state, barely eight years after it was terminated.
He said, “The conversation here is an enlightenment in which week after week, we will be going out to demonstrate our willingness to keep our environment clean. I believe we would, on our own as a people, see the need for us to start a monthly sanitation exercise.
“We cannot do it alone as a Government; we believe the community should support this effort to safeguard our environment and protect our future. I implore everyone to take the message back home that the era of uncleanliness and disregard for environmental regulations is coming to an end in Lagos.”
PUNCH Healthwise learnt that the monthly general sanitation was terminated by the state government in 2016 following a public outcry.
Critics then argued that the exercise violated the fundamental human rights of citizens due to the arrest, trial, and detention of defaulters, which allegedly contributed to congestion in correctional centres across the state.
This was further worsened by the ruling of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, which had in March 2015, revoked the ban on movement during environmental sanitation and stopped the police from enforcing the policy through indiscriminate arrest of residents for non-compliance.
According to the then State Commissioner for Information, Steve Ayorinde, the decision to cancel the exercise, which until 2016 was held between 7am and 10am on the last Saturday of every month, was adopted at the State Executive Council Meeting.
While rumours have it that the government has finally reintroduced the exercise to commence this July, the government, through the state’s Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, debunked the news, stating that it was not true.
In a statement signed by the ministry’s Director of Public Affairs, Kunle Adeshina, Wahab urged all residents to go about their lawful businesses, adding that there would be no restriction of movements on the last Saturday of July.
However, speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise in separate interviews, environmental and public health experts insisted that the exercise must return to encourage healthy living and promote a culture of environmental cleanliness among Lagosians.
An environmental activist and founding partner of the Dawn Project Initiative, Desmond Majekodunmi, said filth is pervasive and dirtiness poses both an embarrassment to the people and a threat to the environment.
Majekodunmi maintained that reinstating the monthly environmental sanitation, traditionally held every last Saturday of the month, is crucial and necessary to combat dirty environments, particularly in light of recent cholera outbreaks.
He pointed out that while cholera has not severely impacted Lagos yet, Lagosians must prepare by cleaning the environment to prevent disease outbreaks.
Majekodunmi expressed his support for monthly environmental sanitation, suggesting that the government should conduct six months of public sensitisation before reintroducing the exercise.
This, he believes, would ensure that residents are informed and ready to participate effectively.
He noted that the government officials and workers recently engaged in community service by cleaning the environment, saying that this initiative was positively received, with the public also participating actively afterwards.
Majekodunmi recommended a shift towards soft punishments for offenders, such as noncustodial community service sentencing, emphasising that the previous method of mobile trial and detention contributed to congestion in the state’s correctional centres.
He noted that community service could effectively serve as a deterrent while also benefiting the community by promoting cleanliness and hygiene.
Majekodunmi expressed his belief in Lagos’s potential to become an excellent place for all residents, stressing the importance of proactive environmental practices such as regular sanitation, tree planting, and maintaining cleanliness to ensure a healthy and pleasant environment.
Sustaining this line of argument, a Public Health Physician at the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, Delta State, Dr Ovie Efekodo explained that large amounts of garbage and hazardous waste provide crucial breeding grounds for insects and rodents.
This, he said, increases the chances of pollution and unsanitary conditions that could pose serious health risks, insisting that a dirty environment would facilitate the spread of harmful germs, making it unsafe for even children to play outside.
He noted that cleaning up the neighbourhood would deliver immediate health benefits and encourage overall wellness. He said that the residents must make it a point of duty to ensure proper waste disposal and management.
“So, I support the return of monthly environmental sanitation, not only in Lagos but also in Nigeria at large. Since it was disbanded, we could see how filthy our environments are.
“People still dump refuse in the drainage because that consciousness is no more there. We are now talking about cholera and these are the things that could come as a result of poor sanitation. Thursday market cleaning is not enough because it takes care of the market but not the entire environment.
“If the general monthly sanitation returns, it would augment the market sanitation. The general sanitation has a way of bringing the consciousness of communal cleanliness,” he added.
Meanwhile, a human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, had asked the Court to restrain Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, from imposing movement restrictions on residents during the planned reintroduction of monthly environmental sanitation exercise in the state.
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