Lagos has a unique heartbeat. After four decades here, I've earned the right to call myself "Omo Eko."
Yet one problem keeps returning. Waste management has haunted this city for years.
What started as an environmental issue has become a public health crisis. Walk down any major road and you'll see garbage piling up everywhere.
Markets are drowning in refuse. Residential areas reek of decay.
Business districts look like dumpsites.
This rainy season made it worse. Blocked drains now flood streets with garbage, pushing waste into homes and across neighborhoods.
Disease follows waste like a shadow. Rats, cockroaches, flies, and mosquitoes breed in filth at alarming rates.
Cholera outbreaks become likely. Typhoid spreads fast.
Diarrhoea and dysentery find fertile ground in blocked gutters.
Millions of Lagosians already live this nightmare daily. Visit Iyana-Ipaja or Agege.
Check Oshodi or Apapa.
Head to Ikotun or Marina. Stop by Okata or Amuwo Odofin.
The story repeats itself everywhere.
Mile 2 and Ajegunle tell the same tale. Overflowing drains line the streets.
Gutters emit sickening smells.
Refuse sits in heaps across the city. This should alarm every single one of us.
The economic damage runs deep. Lagos drives Nigeria's economy forward significantly.
Thousands of local and international businesses operate here. Yet investors won't come to a city choked with garbage.
Property values plummet when waste accumulates. Tourism disappears.
Healthcare costs skyrocket.
Blocked drains trigger floods that destroy businesses. Operating hours get lost.
Goods get ruined. Transport becomes impossible.
Productivity crashes hard. Yearly losses reach billions of naira.
Poor waste management acts like a hidden tax on everyone. Residents suffer.
Businesses bleed money.
Now here's the uncomfortable truth. Neither government nor residents alone caused this crisis.
Responsibility lies somewhere in between both parties. Government agencies must do their part.
They need efficient waste collection systems. Environmental regulations require enforcement.
Drainage infrastructure demands maintenance.
Waste contractors must answer for their actions. When government fails here, garbage piles up visibly.
But residents bear responsibility too. That's the harder conversation.
People throw refuse from moving vehicles constantly. Gutters become dumping grounds for household waste.
Landlords illegally channel sewage into public drains. Market traders leave garbage unattended after closing.
These actions compound our collective crisis. We all created this mess together.
Fixing Lagos requires everyone stepping up. Government must strengthen systems and accountability now.
Citizens must change their habits completely. The city's future depends on both sides acting.
