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By Obike Ukoh
The unhealthy environmental situation in Aba, Abia State, especially indiscriminate disposal of refuse, when Governor Alex Otti took over was pathetic and worrisome. Indeed, over the years, Aba has become notorious for dirtiness, with refuse heaps dotting major roads of the Abia commercial hub.
Efforts of past administrations could not yield any positive results, as the problem persisted. As a cancerous problem known by all stakeholders, Otti, in his inaugural speech, declared a state of emergency on refuse disposal in Umuahia, the state capital, Aba and other cities.
To give teeth to his desire, Otti appointed Mr. Ogbonna Okereke as the head of the task force to implement the refuse disposal emergency and even participated in the flag-off of the exercise in Aba and Umuahi.
Otti said inter alia, via his Twitter handle, after the flag-off: “Today, I supervised the clean-up exercise for Aba and Umuahia, which commenced yesterday.
“I wish to thank all those working pro-bono to ensure that our towns are clean, and all who braved the rain to give effect to the directive we gave two days ago.”
As a practical step to solving the problem, the state government has engaged the services of a firm to produce public refuse collection buckets, otherwise known as receptacles, to be deployed at strategic places in Aba and Umuahia in particular.
In an interview Mr. Onuoha Okorie , chief executive officer of the contracting firm handling the production of an initial 100 units of the receptacles, said the project was targeted at arresting the perennial problem of indiscriminate refuse dumps associated with most of the cities in the state.
According to Okorie, the receptacles, which will be of high quality and durable, when deployed and operational, will go a long way in improving the sanitary condition of major cities in the state.
“For now, government has placed order for the production of an initial 100 units of the receptacles, which we believe can significantly tackle the problem.
“But as time goes on we will be targeting more to cover every part of the state. About 70 of the receptacles may be deployed to Aba and about 30 to Umuahia.
“We are not joking with this project because we are aware that government is serious about the issue of poor refuse disposal in the state,” Okorie said.
He called for the cultivation of a good maintenance culture as one of the most veritable means of ensuring the success of the policy.
“Although what we are producing are of high quality, we are also calling for good maintenance culture. It is more cost-effective to maintain the buckets than produce new ones,” Okorie said.
He blamed the failure of past efforts at tackling poor sanitary conditions in the cities on lack of political will, adding that there was now serious commitment on the part of the state governmet to end the ugly narrative.
Okereke, who emerged as the general manager, Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA), declared that refuse heaps would never dot Aba again.
He said that Otti’s government was committed to doing things differently to ensure that Abia is placed on the path of progress, including giving Aba a new, sanitary look.
The new ASEPA GM said he was ready to change and correct the waste disposal attitude of Aba residents in order to keep the city in proper sanitary state.
He stated that, with the government’s mandate, his agency would also work in other Abia cities to ensure the state sustains a culture of cleanliness as ‘God’s Own State.’
Okereke explained that the state had begun production of over 100 units of waste disposal buckets to be placed strategically around Aba and Umuahia to ease waste collection.
Okereke added that Otti’s government would involve private investors in waste management in Abia to ensure cleaner cities.
Furthermore, he said, the engagement of private investors in the sector would help improve sanitation in the state.
“The present efforts to rid our cities of indiscriminate waste disposal culture will be pursued with vigour, commitment and sincerity of purpose,” Okereke promised.
On its part, a civil society organization, Youth and Students Advocates for Development Initiative (YSAD), commended Otti on declaring a state of emergency on refuse disposal in the state, especially Aba, the state’s commercial hub.
Obinna Nwagbara, executive director, YSAD, also stressed the need to enlighten Aba residents on the dangers of poor refuse disposal.
“With poor refuse disposal, Aba’s gutters are clogged up, resulting in thick sludge breeding mosquitoes and other vectors,” he noted.
According to him, since Abia as a state has no formidable recycling culture, the waste constitutes health hazards to the public; also, some of the wastes were non-biodegradable and pollution agents, and after long years of decomposition mar the environment.
Nwagbara urged Otti to create a road map for a new environmental regime, stressing that the environment must form a major plank of the agenda and policy of government.
He said: “Though the past administrations may have done their bit and best, the need to spotlight Aba’s environment is compelling.’’
Two environmental health experts, Messrs Kalu Ejere and Uchenna Obigwe, who appraised the efforts so far by the Abia State government, stressed the need for policy consistency and adequate funding.
Ejere, on his part, stressed that refuse disposal was capital-intensive. He said there should not be any break in financing, adding that evacuation of refuse would automatically stop without financial flow.
He said, since people could not be stopped from disposing refuse at designated spots, non-evacuation for days would result in refuse heaps. Ejere recalled that during the Governor Sam Mbakwe administration in old Imo State, refuse disposal was not a problem, as there was adequate and prompt release of funds for refuse evacuation from receptacles.
He also stressed the need for government to deploy vehicles as well as engage personnel for refuse evacuation.
On his part, Obigwe observed that the Abia State government had taken the bull by the horns by advertising for contractors to handle refuse collection in the state.
“People have submitted their bids; the result is being awaited. The bid was widely advertised. The government is looking for people with competence and capacity.
“It is not a party affair and this is the first time this is happening in Abia,’’ Obigwe, a retired director of environmental health services, Abia State Ministry of Health, said.
Obigwe, a former Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Abia State Chapter, said with this development, refuse disposal in Abia will no longer be all comers affairs.
He is optimistic that with professionals handling refuse evacuation in Aba and other towns in Abia, the problem of refuse disposal in the state will be a thing of the past.
Obigwe also said that throwing the bid open, is a clear indication, that Otti will definite triumph, where others failed.
Indeed, it is the wish of all lovers of Aba, the Enyimba City, one the commercial epicentres of the South-East, that never again will the major roads of Aba be haven to mountainous refuse heaps. (ENDS)
