ASABA; A CITY OF REFUSE

There is this common pallance that cleanliness is next to godliness.

This literally means that for one to be close to God he or she must be internally and externally clean.

Thus involves ensuring that our hearts, bodies, clothes, bedding, living rooms, compounds and the sorroundings,  offices, cars, business and public places are clean at all times.

In realization that attention to health is the greatest hindrance to life, government at all levels have tried to introduce measures to improve environmental sanitation.

In Delta state the measures include monthly environmental sanitation exercise, regular evacuation of the resultant waste by the  Delta State Waste Management Board and the local government councils, the engagement of Private Sector Participants PSPs to pick waste from homes for a fee, and the distribution of branded refuse bins to residential buildings and business premises by the Delta State Capital Territory Development Agency.

Unfortunately these measures have yet to yield the desired results as refuse have continued to occupy strategic locations where ordinarily they should not be.

On median strips, undeveloped plots of land, and at the markets across state capital refuse dumps are common sights even after repeated warnings by government against indiscriminate dumping of refuse.

The reason for this is not far fetched.

Many residents of the city have sworn never to have anything to do with the PSPs.

Such persons, who believe that government should be the one clearing the waste even from their kitchens, simply collect their waste in paper bags, put them in their vehicles and dump them wherever they choose to as they drive to work, church, business and other places.

Some even do this with their children in the vehicle watching them, even as they also encourage the children to throw out waste from moving vehicles.

This is a good way of showing bad example to children and instilling the culture of indiscipline and uncleanness in them.

This should not be allowed to continue because law is made for man and not man for law

Government, through the relevant authorities, should be more serious with the enforcement of environmental laws, especially ensuring strict compliance with the engagement pf PSPs.

There should be a functional task force or committee to monitor the use of the branded refuse bins of Asaba, while the Ministry of  Basic and Secondary Education should inculcate the culture of cleanliness in the children to check the habit of throwing waste from moving vehicles.

Since the older generation has chosen to live with filth, let the younger generation correcting the bad situation and before long our children would have taught us to keep our environment clean.