Thomas Abi Jr|26 September 2015|5:22pm
At some point in Nigeria, Cross River State was the neatest city in Nigeria in terms of her green, clean and serene environment. The State capital, Calabar, was the dream of most Nigerians. I can recall vividly in my journeys across the country, most of my friends and associates kept on telling me that they will like to come and experience the rich hospitality in Cross River State. These was because at that time Calabar, was clean and green.
Months and years have rolled by, are we still the neatest State in Nigeria? No! We are not. Cross River State has experienced a lot of set backs in terms of refuse evacuation in the State. The five major towns of Calabar, Ugep, Ikom, Ogoja and Obudu are crying for help. The environmental condition of these towns are nothing to write home about. The most painful of them is my once most cleanest city in Nigeria, Calabar. My question is where did we go wrong? How did we get to this point where we have refuse littered all over our streets? What sin did we commit to have our environment in such a despicable condition?
Sanitation is not the sole responsibility of the government. Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contacts with hazard or waste.
As we all know, there are many benefits in a clutter free, clean environment. The environment is fresh and even the air is fresh , having a disease free environment, devoid of communicable and other cancerous diseases associated with poor environmental condition. The environment plays a significant role in having a healthy living. If we clean up our environment,we will be saving our health a great deal.
And so for Cross River State to have a clean environment, every member of the society must contribute his /her quota towards keeping our environment clean. We must all adhere to strict environmental principles of not disposing waste on our streets in the State.
Well, in a way, I do not really blame the citizens of the State littering the town. These is because of the inability of government to evacuate refuse on our streets for several months. The inability of government and the refuse contractors has promoted a lot of health challenges for the People of the State. The People of Cross River State, are now exposed to all manner of diseases as a result of the poor environmental condition.
I was touched to the marrow, seeing the Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade supervising refuse disposal in the streets of Calabar. And I then said to myself that the People of the State must be disciplined enough to end the incessant throwing of refuse through windows from their vehicles, dropping of waste by the road side. What beats my imagination is the fact that even members of the public who are well traveled and exposed still drop waste on our streets.
In as much as our streets are dirty at the moment, we must do our own bid by not dropping refuse along the road. As government is trying to remove waste off our environment we must also do our part by not littering our environment.
In keeping Cross River State clean, I call on the Cross River Government, through the relevant agencies charged with the responsibility of keeping our environment clean to effectively remove refuse off our streets. Also, educating the masses on the effects of poor sanitation, through constant jingles on radio and television, using English and our local languages. Providing public toilets, proper waste disposal channels and regular payment of workers charged with the task of clearing waste off our streets.
Prince Thomas Abi Jr.
Is a Public Affairs/Social Commentator
