The old perception that Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State, is one of the dirtiest in Nigeria (if not the dirtiest), is again coming to the fore, considering how heaps of refuse dot major streets and highways.
The ugly development has remained an eyesore in the last few months as heaps of refuse kept mounting along the road median at Iwo Road, on the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.
There is also a similar scenario at Ojo, along the Ibadan-Oyo Road, where heaps of refuse have taken over the median. The large amount of weeds covering the heaps indicates there has not been any evacuation in months.
To reduce nauseating odour from the dump, commuters and traders operating in the two areas regularly set fire to the refuse. Some traders, whose wares were displayed closer to the road, complained to The Guardian about the hazards of smoke emanating from the burning.
The Guardian observed that some traders, commercial bus operators, commuters, and members of the Hausa community in the Ojo area defecate openly at the dump.
Commuters crossing from one side of the expressway, at Ojo, to the other, are compelled to walk cautiously, lest they step on human faeces.
Asked why the refuse heaps at Iwo Road and Ojo may have been abandoned by the government, one of the traders said: “I wonder why Governor Seyi Makinde left the eyesore at Ojo and Iwo Road to become as huge as it is now. Perhaps, the government is expecting Arab Contractors, the construction company rehabilitating the expressway, to evacuate the refuse in the course of construction. But that can only be, if removal of the refuse is awarded alongside the contract.”
Another check by The Guardian indicates that most of the markets within the Ojo and Iwo Road vicinity do not have coordinated waste management, leading to the dumping of waste on road median.
It was also observed that activities of cart pushers compound efforts of the state government towards managing the huge waste generated in Ibadan.
At the popular Akinyele Market, considered the biggest pepper market in the southwest, refuse management is as bad as what obtains at Iwo Road and Ojo.
Some residents of Akinyele described the situation as terrible, even as they appealed to Makinde to look into the waste management crisis.
Bere, Oje and the Molete areas of Ibadan are not better. On Sunday evening, a visit showed that almost the entire road median in Bere was filled with refuse, an apparent eyesore.
Residents of Mokola also called on the government to step up action on waste management in the axis. There were complaints that the Hausa community in Sabo is an abode for dirt; also huge volume of wastes was dumped within the drainage, resulting in blockage.
Unsurprisingly, at slightest rainfall, the entire Mokola area becomes flooded.
The government has, however, put some measures in place. It said recently that about 169 waste collectors were tasked with handling refuse. It also said it flagged off an intensive door-to-door waste evacuation operation to address the menace of improper waste disposal in the metropolis.
A waste management consultant in the state, Adey Adewuyi, said collectors would be empowered to fast track clearing of waste from the streets of Ibadan and restore environmental sustainability.
