Gbolahan Balogun
It is certain that Mrs Remilekun Oluwatobi Banigbe is not on an enviable seat. The chubby but pleasant girlish woman is the Kwara state Commissioner for Environment. Her headaches are many, she told a few selected reporters at the weekend on her mission to goad some seeming recalcitrant Kwarans on their attitude towards waste disposal.
Who would imagine that people dump hot coals, faeces, bodies of babies and foetuses into the bins provided by the government to evacuate waste? But that is much what her ministry is contending with.
There is no doubt that she knows her onions as she discussed the technicalities of waste management, including the processes of waste collection, transportation and, disposal as well as sustainable waste management systems that involve advanced management strategies to minimize environmental challenges and protect resources.
But to her, knowing is different from being able to deliver on Governor AbdulRahman AdulRazaq’s committal, which she has also assured, to the healthy life of the people and making the state clean and conducive in spite of the rots that have befallen the ministry in the past and, the uncooperative attitude of the people to waste disposal. “The situation is daunting and, I seek the media cooperation in sensitizing Kwarans” She pleaded.
What the administration met on ground when it came to power, she said, were damaged, unserviceable trucks, with many of the RoRo bins where residents dumped their refuse in a wreck, thus unable to meet the needs of the people
The previous administration, she explained, expended a lot on waste disposal, bought equipment and handed them over to collectors for management, “yet it was the government that was fixing these trucks anytime they were faulty and paying the operators."
"That system was not cost-effective at all. In fact, at the time that we came on board, the trucks were not serviceable and they were nothing to write home about. That was why we had to resuscitate the intervention scheme”
She said her ministry as a remedial measure made and distributed not less than 50 aluminium galvanized bins to different locations while looking for an immediate solution.
According to her, four compactor trucks, a tipper and two Dyno trucks were immediately fixed, recalling that the Governor had at the inception of his administration engaged private waste collectors to clean the city and other areas.
"But that wasn't enough for a government that is people-centric. So, the government approved the repair of the trucks.
“For the first phase, we distributed 18 new bins across the town. But then, we realized that there were still more strategic locations for these waste bins to be distributed so we checked again and we distributed 8 more making it 26" She said.
She added that the galvanized bins were made and distributed by popular demand in different locations in town in order to solve people’s waste disposal problem.
Lamenting the people’s negative attitude to waste disposal, the commissioner said "People have to be responsible. It's not just all about the government. The government has its obligations to the people but even as citizens and inhabitants, we also have responsibilities and duties to the government and communities we live in.
"For places like Oja Oba, you discover that after you drop a bin there in the morning, by afternoon, it's filled up. It felt like the government was putting much effort in this regard yet we were achieving close to zero results."
She said, "People are the most difficult to manage. How compliant are people? We have bins yet people still decide to dump their trash on the road. Some people dump their trash beside the bins when the bin is there. More saddening, she said, “were complaints of people dumping hot coals and ashes into the bins, faeces, bodies of babies, foetus. There and a lot of things one wouldn't imagine people would trash that way. People should dispose of waste wisely. "She advised.
But by far the biggest challenge, according to her is “people not wanting to patronize the commercial waste collectors. People feel like because the government has provided bins, there's no need to pay the collectors. People load their car trunks with waste looking for where to drop them when there are waste collectors. It's not fair on the government since the amount the collectors should be paid are as low as #1,500 to #2000 per month depending on your agreement with them”
Just as much, she said, “marketers are expected on sanitation days to come together to evacuate their wastes, but “You’ll discover that in the afternoon the markets are clean but towards the evening, they bring out wastes and begin to dump them on the road median. By morning everywhere is messed up.
"We engaged the fruit sellers association and they requested for waste bins but they're still not forthcoming on our instructions for usage.
It is expected that people would dump their wastes into the bins and wait till they are filled and evacuated, but what they do, according to her, “people just rush at the bins and drop refuse on the floor even around it.
“At that point, we went back to the drawing board to inquire what these people really need because our results were lesser than our expectations.
"So at this point, we engaged the people again and we went back to the giant road bins. We have at Oja Oba, Adifa junctions, Post Office, and these locations are all strategic areas where there are a lot of people. We distributed 11 of those giant road bins to those locations. Last year November, his Excellency also approved the purchase of three more compactors as a means of the interventions.
To give bite to their efforts, she said, the ministry engaged the leaders of the communities, “especially of low and non-income earners, who at a point, complained that the bins were quite small for them. We had to produce the green medium-sized bins, which could only be picked by designated trucks, the Dyno trucks. If you go to some locations like Taiwo isale, Amilegbe and others, you’ll find some of these green bins there."
The Commissioner is also grieving about the unrepentant attitude of some residents dumping refuse inside the gutter during the rain.
"Another issue is, during the rainy season people dump refuse in the drainage systems which stop the flow of water and in turn lead to flooding. It is not uncommon during rain seasons to drive around especially in the evening to see people dumping their garbage around this drainage system.
"Where do these stuffs go? They block our drainage and the drainages get silted up. At the end of the day, they pile up somewhere and this, in turn, hinders the flow of water which could eventually lead to flooding.
"If you do not pave way for water, water will pave way for itself. So at times we have issues of drainages trading apart all because of our carelessness.
These drainages, according to her, have their own impact, "once you begin to have a collapsed drainage, it in turn affect the whole road. The flood will keep hitting the road, there'll be potholes. It's so interconnected."
Speaking further about challenges in the ministry, she said that there are the low income earners and even non income earners who will never pay for evacuation of their waste. "For these set of people, making payment for waste evacuation might be like waiting for rain in dry season” she said.
As a remedy, the Commissioner is advocating that people patronize the services of private waste collectors, not only to reduce the burden of the ministry, but for personal hygiene and of the environment. "We have the commercial waste collectors who are still very much available to collect people's refuse from door to door. All you have to do is pay a token, either at the end of the month or pay upfront depending on the agreement with the commercial waste collectors"
The commercial waste collectors, she said relate directly with the people and their activities are regulated by the Kwara Stare Environmental Protection Agency (KWEPA), who make monthly remittances to KWIRS.
She observed that because Kwara is still considered the most secured state in the North Central region of Nigeria, there has been an increase in the level of migration to the state with resultant effect in increase in daily waste disposal due to this. Government, she said has taken cognizance of the development and would continue to deploy more RoRO bins but charges resident appropriate usage.
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