Governor Ambode
I write this article with a deep sense of duty and responsibility to bring to the notice of the authority the endemic problem of the environmental pollution in most parts of Lagos state. The environmental hazard is in no small measure bringing health problems to the vast majority of the populace in the state. Yet, the state has the highest population in the country.
The first and major cause of this problem is the heavy industrial smoke that pervades the atmosphere in Lagos State. This problem emanates from the locations of industries in many parts of Lagos metropolis. Industrial smoke brings ill-health to the people just as it is responsible for many accidents on our roads. The heavy industrial smoke is dangerous to health as it contains toxic components which bring about lung cancer. According to medical research, over ten thousand Lagosians are treated for this disease monthly. The thick smoke causes headache to motorists and the aftermath are frequent motor accidents on Lagos roads. A good number of road users have died prematurely due to industrial smoke.
Another source of environmental problem in the state is the poor handling of refuse and wastes. As a result of population explosion in the State, the refuse and wastes are so much but the disposal is badly managed. Many Streets in Lagos during rainy season are better called refuse dump sites. This is because everywhere is littered with refuse and waste materials. This in no small way acts as agent of spreading diseases during rainy season.
There has been unbearable offensive odour filling everywhere in the city of Lagos and we cannot afford to continue to witness outbreak of epidemics such as cholera and typhoid. As I was writing this article, the incident of cholera outbreak of 1998 which killed many people in Lagos and other States in Nigeria came to my mind. Recall that the cholera outbreak in 1998 was so widely reported in the international media that FIFA had to withdraw the hosting right of football tournament scheduled to be hosted by Nigeria in that year, the decision which became a national embarrassment.
Residents are not helping matters as they contribute more to the environmental pollution by disposing wastes anywhere they like. Residents also still patronize the truck-pushers who collect their refuse and dump them in the canal and along the roads. Some people even burn their refuse within their residential places, and the result is the unpleasant smoke emanating from such conduct thereby producing environmental pollution.
No doubt environmental pollution poses threats to life. To overcome this environmental nuisance, all industrial establishments should be made to treat their industrial wastes with the aim of reducing the toxic nature of waste. I also use this medium to advise the Lagos State Government to decentralize the State Waste Management Authority Board for effective control and easy access to the people. Private companies contracted by the State Government to clear refuse are advised to be up and doing.
It is my candid advice that Government should be serious with the enforcement of the Environmental laws and if the existing laws need to be amended, then, I humbly call on both the State and national parliaments to look into the laws. The time to act is now!
Aminat Adesope is one of our Staff Writers.
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