The President of the Prime Environment Cleaners Network Association, Barr. Yakubu Muhammed Yazeed, has dismissed the notion that Nigerians are unhygienic, insisting that the country’s sanitation challenge is rooted more in inadequate public education than poor personal habits.

Yazeed made the assertion on Friday in Abuja during the unveiling of the “A Cleaner Nigeria” partnership between Mamuda Group and Yaz Laundry and Cleaning Services.

According to him, the initiative is aimed at deepening public awareness on proper hygiene practices while complementing government efforts to improve environmental sanitation.
“Nigerians are clean people. The real challenge is that many people have not received proper education on what true cleanliness entails. This partnership is about education as much as it is about cleaning,” he said.

He explained that the campaign would enlighten residents on maintaining cleaner homes and public spaces through sustained hygiene education and community engagement.

Yazeed noted that the private sector has a critical role to play in supporting government waste management efforts through corporate social responsibility initiatives. “Our role is to support what government is already doing. Government has its own waste management programmes, but the private sector also has a responsibility to contribute,” he said.

As part of the partnership, Mamuda Group and Yaz Laundry will provide free professional cleaning services to 10,000 homes belonging to less-privileged families across the country alongside household products to help beneficiaries maintain healthy living environments.

The organisations also unveiled a Cleaning Academy Support Programme, through which young Nigerians will receive practical training and skills in professional cleaning, with Mamuda Group supplying products for the programme.

Yazeed revealed that the association has already trained more than 1,000 people in the cleaning profession and has extended similar capacity-building programmes to countries including Ghana and Kenya.

He said the cleaning industry should be viewed as a viable source of employment, particularly for young people. “We want youths to understand that when a place is dirty, it is also an opportunity to create value and earn a legitimate income. Cleaning has become a highly professional industry,” he said.

The partners also announced Project Clean Abuja, a bi-monthly sanitation exercise that will combine community clean-up campaigns with public sensitisation on environmental hygiene.
Yazeed urged government agencies, corporate organisations and residents to support the initiative, stressing that achieving a cleaner Nigeria requires collective responsibility and sustained public education.