CLEANER WATERS

I once took a trip along the wide of the coastline of the Lagos Lagoon. Lagos state is popularly referred to as the centre of excellence and aquatic splendor. But in all truth its waterways are one of the most unutilized worldwide, till date there is no effective water transport system in the state. If you want a good view of the blue seas that run the state, then you must have your boat or get an exclusive ticket for a boat cruise. Nonetheless my grouse today isn’t with the paucity of boats or cruise liners for a seaside voyage; it is with the volume of waste being deposited in the water. What should be an aesthetic sight has been turned to a monstrosity, which is not nature’s accident but rather the practice of unsafe disposal practices by people like you and me.  Everywhere square shaped sachets of pure water dotted surface of the lagoon and on its banks heaps of commercial and domestic waste lined the shoreline leaving me wondering what sort of people did such things.

It is a rather weak argument to say that there isn’t a proper waste disposal system on ground justifying the use of any available space for the disposal of waste. Well if we decide to continue trudging the path of indiscipline, then we must be prepared to bear the cost of a poorly managed environment; poor sanitation, blocked drains and a greater exposure to life threatening water-borne diseases. The lessons of the past are clear; we actually shoot ourselves in the feet if we fail to protect our waters. The state government and the private sector must begin to think more seriously about recycling waste rather the unorthodox method of dumping and burying waste. Come to think of it, some European countries now pay their waste contributors a token; maybe the Lagos state government could borrow a leaf.     

The factories are not left out in this waste palaver, particularly those that utilize toxic chemicals in production; they are also responsible for poisoning the water and decimating aquatic lives. There are better ways of disposing the toxic chemicals and not endangering our aquatic lives. We might think that disposing this waste is a relief but it is a temporary, let us not be hasty to forget that a healthy environment begat healthy people

Yemi, CONNECTAFRICA