By Abdulrasheed Akere
Waste management is one of the biggest challenges authorities in both small and large cities across Nigeria face today. This is mainly due to the increasing generation of solid waste and low waste collection management.
The Eruda community of Ilorin West local government of Kwara State is one of the communities in Kwara State suffering from low waste management collection.
In May 2021, the AbdulRazaq-led administration launched the placement of Waste bins also called Roro bins in selected areas across the state to aid proper waste collection management. However, the Eruda community is not one of the beneficiaries. This has therefore forced its residents to indiscriminately dump their refuse into nearby streams thereby obstructing waterways.
Speaking with this reporter, Rukayat Yusuf, a daughter of Olokuta compound in Eruda expressed dissatisfaction over the unavailability of refuse bins in her community.
“We used to keep refuse in buckets and sacks so as to drop it in the gutter whenever rain falls. We know it is against the law but we don’t have a choice. When it is raining, we would dump the refuse in Aluko stream so that it can flow away
“I could recall how a child was carried away when he was asked to go dump refuse in a nearby stream during rain. This resulted in his death. To avert future occurrence of such cases and to maintain a healthy lifestyle, the waste bin is essential in our community,” she said.
Another community member, Olanrewaju Lekan said, “Since we are not provided with waste containers in our community, there’s no place to dump our refuse than Aluko stream. It is obvious that the garbage we dumped in the stream is a barrier to proper water flow and it has been affecting some nearest houses to the stream flow path.
“We urge the government to do the needful on this matter before the problem gets out of hand. Let’s put ourselves in the shoe of the residents of the victim houses.”
Residents of neighbouring communities also bare the brunt of the unavailability of waste bins in their communities.
Mustapha from Ojaya lamented, “I must confess that houses, shops and schools in Ojaya, Isale-Ajassa, Alapata and Eruda have no other place to dump their wastes except this Aluko stream. I can point to more than five houses that flooding from the stream has affected.
“The erosion had successfully displaced a lot of people. We urge the government to provide us with waste bins in order to arrest this dilemma,” he added.
Community leaders’ plight
Alhaji Kawata Arikewuyo, who is the chairman of Eruda community and vice-chairman for community policing in Kwara state, said illegal dumping of refuse has become rampant due to the lack of waste containers in the community.
“As a security guard, I always stand by the gutter in front of my house whenever it rains to prevent people from dumping refuse into the flood. To my surprise, some of them will not bring the trash out when the rain is heavy until the rain is low with a little flood.
“Previously, things were not like this when there were waste bins in the community. We used to have one here before but they took it away without replacing it.”
The chairman told this reporter that efforts were ongoing on how to reach out to the state government for help.
Another community leader, Jimoh Olokuta confirmed that there were waste bins in the area before, which were placed beside the bridge near Eruda community primary school.
“We implore the government to provide us with two or more bins across the four communities — Eruda, Alapata, Isale-Ajassa and Ojaya. There are places where the waste containers could be placed that will not discomfort the comfortability of the residents.”
He added that whenever our request is granted, the people in charge of the disposal of the containers should be prompt in picking up the refuse when the bin is filled so that the streets won’t be littered.
The APC Youth Leader in Baboko ward, Mr. Musa Lukman, explained that all his effort to get the government’s attention to the people’s plight proved abortive.
“I have tried my possible best to meet Mr. AbdulRasaq Jidda, the Chairman, Special Task Force to Governor Abdulrasaq Abdulrahman, who is also a resident of Eruda community to help us with this issue, but he is always not available. I will never get tired of going to his house to see him on this for the love of my people.”
Findings further revealed that Eruda and nearest communities are prone to waterborne and foodborne diseases due to farmlands at the banks of the stream where refuse is disposed.
Magaji Jubril, a farmer said, “the wastes dumped in the stream have polluted it because some contain harmful materials and it’s not good because we used the water for irrigating our crops during the dry season.”
Community in dilemma over govt’s threat
In April 2022, the Kwara State government warned residents against illegal and indiscriminate dumping of Refuse.
The then State Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Abosede Olaitan Buraimoh threatened to prosecute residents that do not comply with the state’s environmental law.
For Eruda residents, their fate remains unknown. “Well, I doubt the government will prosecute anyone here. They don’t give us the roro bin despite our repeated appeals. Where do they expect us to dump our refuses?” one of the deeply concerned resident questioned with a confused face.
Govt’s reaction
When contacted for comment by this reporter, Mr. AbdulRasaq Jidda, the Chairman Kwara State Special Taskforce on Environment said, “The problem we are facing is not the bin but our people. Even communities provided with bins dispose waste indiscriminately. Over 30 tons bins have been placed in strategic areas such as Taiwo Oke, Taiwo Isale, Stadium among others. Even when the bins are yet to be filled up, people will still dump refuse on the floor, so what we need from our people is just attitudinal change.
“Well, the government is planning on procuring more bins which will be delivered to the ministry of environment as soon as it is available.”
The commissioner for environment, Mrs. Remilekun Oluwatobi Banigbe, for her part, urged citizens to take responsibility when necessary.
“Bins cannot be placed everywhere. We should endeavor to use those that were strategically placed in other areas. In normal circumstances, areas with no bins are under commercial waste collectors, we should patronize them with just token sum instead of dumping wastes indiscriminately,” the commissioner said.
“I appeal to our people to take ownership of their environment, they should understand that it is dangerous to channel waste into the drainage system; if the drainage is blocked, water will find another way to flow which results in flooding. This affects us more because we are the people, so we should also do our part because the government is doing their part.”
When the commissioner was asked about the bins removed from the community without replacement, she replied, “I will investigate it and see what can be done in that regard. This is the government of the people and we have to listen to the people.”
When confronted with our findings that the contacts on the roro bins for refuse-related issues weren’t reachable, the commissioner expresses surprise. She directed her secretary to put a call to the department in charge of the ministry help centre to confirm.
ABOUT THE REPORTER
Abdulrasheed Akere Abdulkareem, a committed Nigeria journalist, studies at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS). Email: abdulrasheedabdulkareem01@gmail.com