WHEN one wonders about which drains are the dirtiest in Lagos, the plastic-clogged drains at Egbeda bus stop and the eternal rancid odour emanating from the gutter along Ogunlana Road that inspired this opinion piece come to mind. There is no way one would drive along that road without being repulsed by what is perceived by the eyes and nostrils. People shop by these blocked and filthy drains everyday, it makes one wonder if we really have an environmental sanitation unit in the local councils.
As you drive along Egbeda road, one can see some of the drains by the roadside filled to the brim with solid waste, plastic waste, and little water to moisturise the mess. Most of these drainage contents look like a blackened mass of semi-solid waste. This should not be so. Plastic and biodegradable waste do not belong to drains. The drains are meant to manage liquid waste such as rainwater and household wastewater. Unfortunately, many communities have people collectively guilty of dumping solid waste into drains, gutters, and canals.
Drain blockage is happening right before our eyes and we are doing very little to reverse this mess. We often wait for the floods to torment us during the rainy season before each community decides to unclog our drains and free them of heaps of plastics and rotten debris. We ought not to have debris inside our drains, there is no excuse for such irresponsible behaviour. I personally see when the trash truck affiliated with LAWMA drives along streets in Egbeda to collect solid waste, yet residents still dump waste into small gutters meant for household water waste.
Alimosho residents need to change their behaviour towards managing waste and drains for the sake of hygiene. We also need to absolve ourselves of the guilt of contributing to the dirtiest drains in Lagos. The collective health of our communities is in our hands, let's keep our drains clean and without solid waste.
