The Lagos State government on Thursday urged residents, market men and women, artisans, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and commercial establishments to prioritise environmental cleanliness to prevent the spread of diseases.

Special Adviser on Environment, Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, disclosed this at the commemoration of the 2024 World Clean-Up Day advocacy and sensitisation programme held at Bada Community in the Oshodi/Isolo Local Council to encourage residents to voluntarily continue the exercise.

He described the event as a global exercise with the 2024 theme: “Make Room for Life,” underscoring that residents should inculcate the habit of cleaning up their environment regularly and refrain from blaming the government when it rains and flash floods occur.

He said: “Good sanitation practices are not an individual responsibility but a collective one; everyone must take action. Residents cannot continue to accuse the government while they continually dump their waste in drainages.”

According to him, the time for politicking has passed and now is the time for governance.

He added that the exercise is a clarion call for all to embrace good sanitation habits.

Rotimi-Akodu stressed that a dirty environment promotes the spread of diseases such as diarrhoea, malaria, and typhoid, as well as the outbreak of cholera experienced in Lagos a few months back.

He said the government carried out today’s exercise to clean up drainages, streets, medians, kerbs, sidewalks, refuse black spots, and vegetal nuisances in Bada Community, as well as markets, motor parks, and garages in Oshodi-Isolo local council so that they can sustain the regular cleaning of their environment.

He reiterated that residents should desist from unwholesome waste disposal, as the generation of waste is an unavoidable aspect of human existence. He stressed that residents should always patronise the Private Sector Partnership (PSP) for better service delivery.

He appealed to residents, market men and women, to stop seeing KAI officials as enemies, saying that if people imbibe good environmental sanitation and hygiene practices as a way of life, KAI officials would not close their markets.
He also explained that the Oja-Oke, Idera Market on Baderin Street, Oshodi, was sealed today due to unsanitary activities, adding that various whistle-blowers and customers had complained to the government about these habits.

Earlier, the Director of Sanitation Services, Dr. Hassan Sanuth, said the United Nations set aside a day in September each year to carry out thorough cleaning and sanitation of our environment.

“I want to encourage all of us to be dedicated to continuing this exercise, as this is a clarion call to key into Mr. Governor’s vision to improve the aesthetics of our great state, promote our tourism potential, and improve the economy,” he said.

In her response, the Iyaloja General of Oshodi/Isolo Market, Mrs Sekinat Ejide Adeyanju, expressed appreciation to the government for the laudable exercise, saying that the continuous effort to clean up and sanitise the state by the government is in the best interest of all residents.

She pledged that market women and men would continue to inculcate the culture of engaging in environmental sanitation regularly, as well as endeavour to dispose of waste responsibly and patronise PSP operators.

The team had earlier cleaned up Peluola Street, Bada Community, Mafoluku Oshodi, and sealed Oja-Oke, Idera Market on Baderin Street, Oshodi for various unsanitary activities before proceeding to the sensitisation/advocacy programme.