From Hope Abah, Makurdi
Residents of Makurdi metropolis in Benue State are currently worried as dumping of refuse on popular streets around the city centre has gradually become a norm despite the attendant health risks.
President of the Yoruba Community in the state, Chief Isaac Akinkunmi, at the weekend raised an alarm over the degenerating dirty condition of the environment and the lackadaisical attitude of those involved in ensuring a clean surrounding for human habitation.
“In Makurdi, dumping refuse on road dividers is no big deal. It is gradually becoming normal. Laughable, you must agree,” he said.
“How else do you describe a country that has no regards for simple decent living by way of just taking care of the environment?” he wondered.
According to him, what could be worse than open defecation, not just in bushes but openly in highbrow areas?
Akinkunmi, who is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rantito Group of Companies, wonders who to blame; the perpetrators or the government?” he asked.
The business mogul said it is a shame that despite its level of development, Nigeria still cannot manage its waste properly. He enjoined the people to look inwards and change the dirty habit that has now become the norm in the country.
A resident, Peter Amos, expressed dissatisfaction with the indiscriminate disposal of refuse around High Level, Police Barracks and Naka road areas amongst others in the state capital of Makurdi, emphasising that the sight of rubbish anytime of the day was disgusting and a health risk.
The General Manager of Benue State Environmental and Sanitation Authority (BENSESA), Engr. Andrew Chile, told our correspondent in an interview recently that the activities of saboteurs was hindering refuse collection and evacuation, especially in Makurdi.
Chile noted that those sabotaging government’s effort in ensuring a clean environment were mainly disgruntled agents disengaged by the sanitation authority as he pointed out that security operatives have arrested over 65 offenders in Makurdi of for dumping refuse indiscriminately along major roads.
Chile said the offenders were made to publicly clear refuse on the streets from Tito Gate around the Low Level roundabout on Kashim Ibrahim Road down to the Modern Market junction in order to serve as a deterrent to others who dropped waste anyhow to deface the state capital.
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