One Year LAWMA Desert Areas in Lagos, Community Stinks  

Jerome Kalu

It is already more than a year, Lagos State Waste Management Agency, has left Itire-Mushin roads in an outright dirt, living the whole part of the community stinking, and lingering into what can cause health issues, Residents said. LAWMA agents are always impatient even whenever they come around, thus, categorically characterised as nonchalant, our correspondent learnt.

---

It is no more news that Lagos State is gradually developing into the anticipated Megacity due to the government’s efforts, but the nonchalant attitude of the Lagos State Waste Management Agency to its duty seem to be making the efforts useless as well as making residents lament.

 

Nowadays in Lagos, some neighbourhoods look far from a developing megacity due to the high level of sewage found at several corners; including on streets and junctions, making everywhere inconducive for both residents and commuters.

 

This is as a result of LAWMA’s disfunctionality in the community – they’re not going into streets to clear the refuse of people’s houses as and when due, which issues linger for several months, making the environment uncomfortable to live in.

For this reason, most residents who do not have alternatives are forced to dispose their waste on the streets, while some dump theirs in the middle of the roads and others at strategic junctions, that begin to reek terrible odours, thereby making the neighbourhood unfavourable for inhabitants.

 

With this situation, most residents who could not condone the uncomfortable environment anymore spoke out in lamentations, calling for government to come to their rescue before the abnormality becomes uncontrollable and ridicules the image of Lagos.

 

Speaking to a resident of Ijesha street, along Itire-Mushin road, Lagos, Miss Makanjuola Titilayo, expressed her displeasure over LAWMA agency’s disfunctionality in the community to evacuate wastes, which has made everywhere messy.

 

“LAWMA has not been coming for a year now and the last time they came, they were rushing and pushing people away saying their truck would not contain they (sic) waste we were bringing.

“The government officials has (sic) to put a watchdog to sue anyone who put a refuse on the road because we the residents are very angry seeing our community turn into a dumping ground and the LAWMA agents need to be looked at too because if they have been coming regularly it won’t be like that”.

 

An elderly resident of the same community, Mr. Tayo Akinlade, who also lamented about the LAWMA agents not coming regularly, added that when they come, they impose excess bills on them and insist on collecting even for the months they were not around to pick up refuse from the area.

 

“They did not come for a long time, for many months now and when they manage to come they will force us to pay before we throw our dustbin away”.

 

“Some times when they come, even the months they did not come,they will still force us to pay for it else we will not be allowed to throw our dustbin away”

 

“So we beg for government to come and help us speak to them to do their work well because we use to pay for it everytime and money is hard to get and we can not be wasting it for nothing”.

 

Effects of Wastes

 

The effects associated with waste vary widely and are influenced by the substances or chemicals found in waste and how they are managed, United States Environmental Agency, wrote. Although data do not exist to directly link trends in waste with effects on human health and the environment, the management of waste may result in waste and chemicals in waste entering the environment.

 

Hazardous waste, by definition, has the potential to negatively affect human health and the environment, which is why it is so strictly regulated. Hazardous wastes are either specifically listed as hazardous by EPA or a state, or exhibit one or more of the following characteristics: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity. Generation and management of hazardous wastes can contaminate land, air, and water and negatively affect human health and environmental conditions.

 

Some of other diseases that can be constituted ny hazardous wastes are asthma, fever, cholera and among others.

---

Got a story to tell, reach us through here: hello@pija.com.ng or www.pijalance@gmail.com. Read about us, below.