Epidemic of cholera and similar diseases looms at Oshopey Plaza on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, as the septic tank serving the six-storey shopping complex is full and spills human waste on the major road, reports Senior Copy Editor, INNOCENT ANORUO.
Sprawling on more than two plots of land on highbrow Ikeja area of Lagos, Oshopey Plaza, if not the biggest, is one of the tallest buildings on Allen Avenue.
Housing electronics shops, offices, boutiques and other business establishments, the complex is a money-spinner with the least office going for about half a million naira annually. There are also attachments around the building which accommodate petty traders like food and drink vendors.
But the beautiful edifice is on the verge of becoming a harbinger of doom. The septic tank that serves the complex, for over two weeks now, has been spilling its contents abroad. The most dangerous part of the development is that the septic tank is at the eastern flank where about six small shops sell food.
With the development, an outbreak of cholera or the like looms at the complex. The exposure of human waste where food is sold and consumed breeds flies which can easily transfer V. cholerae from the sewage water to food. The resultant effect is as good as anybody’s guess.
Reasons for delay
When TheNiche enquired from a man identified simply as Ayodele who represents the late landlord of the building what was delaying the evacuation of the filled sewage tank, he said he was not the one in charge of the evacuation. He however directed our reporter to one Emeka.
Emeka, who was reached through the phone on Friday, October 21, told TheNiche that he was aware of the development. But he said though approval had been given for the evacuation, the fund had not been released. He also said that he was expecting the release of the money Monday or Tuesday, and that immediately the fund is released, the tank would be evacuated.
Emeka attributed the delay in the evacuation to the ‘Nigeria’ factor.
“Why are you threatening me? Are you not in this country? You need to appreciate the efforts I have been making to make things right,” Emeka thundered when he discovered that the story was on its way to the press.
Not even one of the petty traders at the area was willing to speak to TheNiche, probably for fear of eviction. However, some, on condition of anonymity, said they had reported the case to those in charge of the building, to no avail.
There was no response to the several calls put across to the General Manager of Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Adebola Shabi, before going to press.
Cholera
According to Wikipedia, cholera is an infectious disease that causes severe watery diarrhoea, which can lead to dehydration and even death if untreated. It is caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with a bacterium called Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae).
- choleraeis a Gram-negative, comma-shaped bacterium. Its natural habitat is brackish or salty water. Some strains of V. cholerae cause the disease cholera. V. cholerae is a facultative anaerobe and has a flagellum at one cell pole as well as pili. It can undergo respiratory and fermentative metabolism. When ingested, it can cause diarrhoea and vomiting in a host within several hours to three days of ingestion. It was first isolated as the cause of cholera by Italian anatomist, Filippo Pacini, in 1854, but his discovery was not widely known until Robert Koch, working independently 30 years later, publicised the knowledge and the means of fighting the disease.
Cholera was prevalent in the United States in the 1800s, before modern water and sewage treatment systems eliminated its spread by contaminated water.