Prevention is cheaper than cure, people who foresee doom but refused to prevent them will surely face the consequence of their inactions and vice versa. While I sympathize compassionately with the flood victims in Maiduguri as they go through this phase in their lives, I want to particularly call the attention of Lagos State Waste Management Authority LAWMA and all relevant agencies of government in the MDAs protecting and promoting the environment at the Federal, state and local level to learn adequate lessons from Maiduguri flood and the victims, towards taking right actions to prevent future occurrences which may be devastating.
Just like revered Primate Elijah Ayodele, I foresee series of flood disaster in flood prone areas in Lagos and the earlier LAWMA and relevant agencies protecting and promoting the environment come to this realization, the better it is for the safety of lives and property of Lagosians .
A research I conducted with some team in Lagos revealed that bulk of residents who reside in flood prone areas which include Ikorodu, Oworonshoki, Ajah among others are people who are reluctant to pay refuse bills. The harsh economic situation makes it even more difficult for the few complying ones to pay at this time.
LAWMA trucks don’t run charity, so they don’t come to this areas like they used to. This gap has promoted unhealthy ways of disposing waste on drainages and canals among these inhabitants .
Waste sorting is now lucrative for those doing the business, a lot of seeming responsible people and family have joined since they can get paid after sorting their wastes.
However, many community development association in this flood prone areas don’t allow strange faces to pick their wastes for security reasons.
In preventing another flooding disaster most especially in Lagos, I want to appeal to LAWMA to extend charity services to residents in flood prone areas by picking their waste free of charge and encouraging them to sort them as an when due to earn money.
Just as we have Band A, Band B, Band C categories in the power sector, LAWMA should categorize its customers ability to pay for its services in this sequence. Those that can pay their refuse bills ,Those that can’t pay in flood prone areas should not be allowed to dispose their waste indiscriminately and causing greater havoc for all.
LAWMA should swing into action now, deploy its trucks to these areas so the people don’t have excuse of littering the drainage pathways.
When this is done, the people will be their on whistleblower to expose and prevent recalcitrant residents.
Adagunduro Elias Abayomi writes from Lagos, Nigeria.