Photo credit: The Conversation
Most of our cities are in the habit of being bedecked with the number one tourist attraction. In fact, which other way is better for us to welcome visitors than regaling them with tons of refuse?
I’m sure the people in power know what they are doing, don’t they?
They want to prove a point. You know, there’s a cliche that says we should not wash our dirty linens in public. However, if the dirty linens are the best we could offer, why not, if not?
We’re trying to show visitors that we don’t have any semblance of governance in these climes. What’s the big deal in refuse collection? I understand a state government has even contracted foreigners to come and do our dirty job.
But to my mind, if we should empower all three tiers of government, refuse collection is not beyond what local governments can do. It is their constitutional function. By so doing, many of our people could be employed.
Indeed, the local governments are supposed to be involved in the collection of rates and levies, television and radio licenses, licensing of bicycles, canoes and wheelbarrows, establishment of markets, motor parks, public toilets, open spaces, etc.
However, in a situation where the state governments are in control of all and therefore making the chairmen and councillors senior prefects and other prefects, how can we have the best from the local governments?
By the way, when I was a tiny tot, I used to know sparkling clean cities. Then, the night soil men would always perform their nocturnal duties of emptying human waste. The vehicles normally took the waste to somewhere on the Island. There, the waste was offloaded into the lagoon to be eaten by fish.
No wonder those fish were always extra large. They had done a natural recycling!
I wasn’t too young to see the old wolewole, as health superintendents were called. They made their rounds making sure we had a clean city.
Then, at Glover Street, Ebute Meta, was a section of the old Lagos City Council. There was even a dogs section. It was in charge of licensing of dogs. Officials did go out to catch unlicensed dogs so that rabies might be prevented.
I remember that we used to sail our paper boats in the clean gutters. The gutters were cleaned regularly by council officials.
I really don’t understand our problems these days. In the first instance, people have shown that they would pay if the governments are up and doing, as regards cleaning the cities.
Second, the governments could recycle the waste. They could even generate electricity for a country suffering from a permanent breakdown of electric power supply. It’s a win-win situation for the governments.
As long as the status quo remains, we will continue having garbage to decorate our nooks and crannies!
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