By Pascal Oparada
Heaps of filth have resurfaced on streets of Lagos, Nigeria’s centre of excellence. All the excuses by the operators and government are not adding up. Lagos residents are choking by their numbers.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode said the second lap of his first term in office would be dedicated to a cleaner and more secure Lagos. But this is far from reality. Filth is obviously winning the battle.
Cholera and other airborne sicknesses are being recorded in their numbers in parts of the state.
Lagos was a model city in waste collection and disposal. Countries and other cities in Nigeria were coming on pilgrimage of sorts to learn how Lagos did it.
The Private Sector Participation (PSP) arrangement has collapsed. The government and operators are entangled in a bitter battle over new waste disposal policy. Residents are bearing the brunt.
Operators have heaped the blame on government. They say the new policy is not favourable.
The new policy was contained in a bill on the floor of the Lagos State House of Assembly. It aims at managing, protecting and sustaining development of Lagos State and other connected purposes.
At the stakeholders hearing held for the bill, the PSP operators and government officials did not agree on the initiative.
Government wants to bring in new investors. Operators fear being sidelined. They said they were not consulted.
They got loans to acquire new compactors. According to them, some of the trucks costs up to N20 million. The new exchange rate has spiked the price of compactors to over N40 million.
The operators are gasping for air. They have abandoned the streets.
“It is pathetic that after assisting the government to sustain a cleaner Lagos, they now feel we are not competent to achieve their aim”, an operator said.
But the government insists on bringing in new investors “with right expertise and funds to manage waste collection in the state.”
Under the new system, over 27,000 street sweepers would be engaged, government said. And this is aside mechanized street sweeping.
Current sweepers have alleged delayed and poor pay. Some said they have to wait for months before being payed. This has caused low morale.
Refuse cart pushers are having field day. Residents have no other option.
With a city of over 20 million residents, churning out wastes, disposing off same, is a herculean task.
Lagos residents have been left to choke or chill with filth all over the place.