The Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Kehinde Bamigbetan, said government had released 27,500 street sweepers and compactors to tackle the increasing refuse heaps in the once clean mega city.
Bamigbetan, who took to his Facebook wall to make the disclosure, said the problem would soon be a thing of the past.
For months now, Lagos State, once touted as one of the cleanest states in Nigeria, has been witnessing cases of increasing refuse heaps in different parts of the state, leading to citizens becoming worried and alarmed, fearing a breakout of epidemic.
As at 5pm on Wednesday, the statement had attracted over 50 comments, 168 likes and 45 shares.
Bamigbetan wrote: “The greater story is that 27,500 street sweepers are now hitting the streets and compactors are now at work all over the city as I write, evacuating refuse all night. Considering that refuse is generated every minute by 22 million people, it is going to be a Herculean task. But trust this government and this governor; speedily and steadily, the battle to rid our medians of filth will be executed with tenacity. Watch this and other platforms for updates.”
He explained that he spent the evening driving through suburbs of Agege Motor Road, “then turned off at Akowonjo to Egbeda and finally left to Ikotun- Igando.”
He added: “I have been on the social media and whatsapp groups. I have seen what you have seen. The refuse on the media is mounting everywhere and it is as if they are going to hit the skies. Yet I tell you. This too shall pass.”
Bamigbetan noted that in 1999, the then 12 million Lagosians dumped too much refuse that “we could not cart them away as soon as they were dropped. Just like now, there was so much hysteria about refuse taking over Lagos.
“But Lagos State Government responded. The responses led to the introduction of Private Sector Participation in Waste Management. Those mountains of debris disappeared and Lagos became clean again. We did it before. We shall do it again.
“In 2016, our administration led by Gov.Ambode took a second look at Lagos and was convinced that Lagosians could live in a cleaner, healthier environment. The vision of a better landscape gave birth to Visionscape. No one, critic or for, has disagreed with this vision. Everybody agrees that Lagos State can be cleaner and healthier. Like a child in the womb, rarely do the pregnant mother knows which part of the body will show first; the head, the shoulder or the legs. And so it is with this progressive dream. The challenges of the logistics affected the perfect sequence choreographed by its designers. The compactors came in later than expected but the good story is that they are here now.”
While many of those who responded to Bamigbetan’s post praised the government’s move, others jeered.
Kunlun Olawoyin said: “See a responsive and responsible government in action. Who would not like this? How I wish we will have this caliber of people at the federal level. God bless Ambode and his cabinet members. God bless Lagos State. Please borrow some people brain nah… We can have a better Nigeria too…”
Bankole Shakirudeen Adeshina noted: “The simple question is what happened to the waste management model being used by the immediate former government under Raji Babatubde Fashola? Was it not result driven? Why the scrapping of the former waste managers? Were they not delivering? Why scrapping a working model? This is because it was generally believed that Lagos was unprecedentedly clean and beautiful under Gov Fashola. What then happened and why the change? And why Visionscape as a new manager? What is the profile of the company and the government interest in it?”
Although Bamigbetan said sweepers and compactors worked through the night, but as at 11am on Wednesday, heaps of refuse are still sighted at Isheri/Idimu, Egbeda and Iyana-Ipaja areas.