Littering Lagos, by Lilian Mabeek

Lagos is a very beautiful city on the coastal line, visible for its beaches and known for its luxurious night life. Lagos State was created on May 27, 1967 by virtue of State (Creation and Transitional Provisions) Decree No. 14 of 1967, which restructured Nigeria’s Federation into 12 states. Lagos is a delight for most people who desire to change location because its has been improved in terms of infrastructure, electrification and more entertainment because it is accredited the commercial hub of Nigeria.

Despite the aesthetics, a number of Nigerians are weary about Lagos. According to them, it is congested and has a reputation for being unclean.

Some of the assertions above are wholly true and it is caused by the people themselves who live in Lagos. The pollution in Lagos did not happen overnight, but overtime certain set of people have continued to thwart the effort of the Lagos State Government.

Take a drive or walk around in your leisure, you will find a tattered bus, smoky and in state of disrepair. You may find someone in the glare of the public defecate. While still enjoying a tour of the city, a driver may just out of a moving vehicle throw trash out of the window, an act that has caused several accidents. The list goes on. To the extent that even the official waste carriers distribute waste from one location to another without caution.

Describing Lagos as a no man’s land may be the reason why such appalling sight occurs. Even the well placed in the society are guilty of littering Lagos. Notable of such litters are used plastic bottles, nylons, newspapers wraps, tyres, aluminium, irons, household items, jerricans, human hair, clothings, gutters, to mention a few.

There is a huge need to create more awareness to encourage Lagosians to be Lagos friendly and desist from such ugly habits that tend to cause health problems for everyone. Lagos is a beautiful place, but the commercial bus drivers must learn as a matter of urgency to tidy their vehicles or face a restriction from the Ministry of Transportation. Traders are also not left out from the problems. In an area where traders make their daily earnings, most of them are careless about the environment they transact their daily business.

Dear reader, it is with a position of cleaner Lagos and hygiene that I want you to stay away from littering Lagos with dirt. It is very risky to the health of every Lagosian.

. Lilian Mabeek is a writing enthusiast who enjoys to captivate her readers with everyday happenings or experiences as it best soothes each person, having similar and peculiar reactions and interaction with daily life occurrences. As an inspirational writer focused on indelible prints of positivity of the minds on anyone reading a line or pages as it were, she prefers not to delve into negative stories or publications, but rather intentionally purges the minds of readers to awaken to a beautiful world where endless joy is found and possibilities exist. For Mabeek, her purpose is to bring peaceful memories, coexistence and friendliness to the mind of anyone who reads her daily digest. You can describe her choice of expression as a daily English usage for better comprehension among readers of all educational qualifications. Mabeek’s passion for writing was borne out of ensuring that anyone reading any publication will find pleasure, humour, laughter and an appreciation of whatever is being written about, but ultimately avert stress, anxiety, depression and any form of life challenge. As a social commentator and public relations consultant, for her the pen is a tool to the heart of the society, bringing public enlightenment that it pays to focus on positive narratives and creating a greater image for Nigeria.