The Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), popularly known as Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), has lamented the persistent return of traders to prohibited areas, including walkways and road setbacks, shortly after enforcement operations.

The Corps Marshal, Major Olatunbosun Olaniyi Cole (rtd.), raised the concern at the Lagos East and Central Senatorial District Divisional Stakeholders and Community Engagement meeting held in Bolade-Oshodi, Lagos.

The meeting, themed: “Strengthening Environmental Sanitation Through Effective Enforcement and Stakeholder Collaboration,” was organised as part of efforts to curb street trading and other environmental infractions across the metropolis.

Cole urged market leaders to discourage their members from occupying roads, walkways and other prohibited areas, stressing that environmental sanitation was a shared responsibility.

He said LAGESC had adopted advocacy, enforcement and collaboration with market leaders, Community Development Associations and Committees (CDAs/CDCs) and transport unions to encourage voluntary compliance with environmental laws.

According to him, the yearly stakeholder engagements had helped strengthen collaboration and community ownership of environmental sanitation initiatives.

“At KAI, we believe that environmental best practices do not rest solely on the government. It is a shared responsibility requiring the active participation of community leaders, traders, transport operators, residents and other stakeholders,” he said.

Cole urged residents to dispose of waste through approved Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators, pay their waste bills promptly, recycle where possible and maintain regular environmental sanitation.

However, he lamented that some traders returned to prohibited locations almost immediately after enforcement.

“Traders hardly listen. They return almost immediately after an enforcement. We need to continue enforcement, but we do it with a human face,” he said.

On the role of market leaders, Cole said some allegedly collected levies from traders but were difficult to identify during enforcement operations.

“We are appealing to them to stop trading where it is prohibited. We are not here to make life miserable for them. They also need to comply,” he said.

A market leader at Tinubu-Kakawa Market, Lagos Island, Folasade Abimbola, said traders had a responsibility to keep their surroundings clean.

“We need to clean our environment because it is for our own good. Sickness will reduce if we keep our environment clean,” she said.

Abimbola also raised concerns over the theft of metal covers used to protect drainage channels, saying she sometimes spent more than N200,000 replacing stolen covers to prevent people from falling into the drains.

Speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Dr Gaji Omobolaji Tajudeen, said responsible waste disposal was an investment in the future of Lagos.

He said flood management remained a major priority, noting that the government had continued to invest in drainage infrastructure, canal rehabilitation, flood-control measures and the removal of obstructions from waterways.

Tajudeen also said street begging and destitution required sustained attention because of their environmental and social implications, including road safety, child protection and human trafficking.

He added that KAI had apprehended hundreds of beggars and destitute persons for profiling and appropriate intervention, with minors receiving particular attention and protection.

He urged residents and stakeholders to support efforts to build a cleaner, safer and more sustainable Lagos.