Daniel’s Garbage, Amosun’s Burden

Otunba Gbenga Daniel, OGD for short, fought many battles while in the saddle as the governor of Ogun state. He won some, and lost some. One of the battles he lost is the one against rubbish. That a reputable Engineer of OGD’s stature could succumb to the threat of garbage confounds one. To those of us who regularly ply the Mowe- Ibafo axis of Ogun state, the ugly sight of heaps of rubbish, almost creeping into the main road, has become rather embarrassing and worrisome.

To be specific, I will mention the ones at Ibafo and Asese, all emerging settlements along the Lagos- Ibadan expressway. The heaps of refuse in these locations, if care is not taken, will soon result in a serious epidemic outbreak. The deadly odour oozing out of these places is a pointer to this. And to think that OGD and his ‘hard-working’ cabinet members regularly pass through this same road enroute Lagos! Could it be that they choose to look the other way or that they are still strategizing on scientific means of clearing the garbage?

It is amazing how the governor and his team could not take a cue from nearby Lagos where the state government has evolved effective means of cleaning up the city round the clock. Ikorodu road, Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja, Third Mainland bridge and other major roads in the Lagos state clearly testify to this. What does it take to clean up the dumpsites at Ibafo and Asese? Granted, it is wrong for the people to turn every available space into rubbish dump, the question however is whether they are provided with any civilised alternative. It is the prerogative of the government to provide such for the people and to enforce compliance. Are there designated dumpsites along this route for the growing population of dwellers there to use? If there are and the people chose not to use, then the state government has the responsibility of ensuring that the people use them. However, since the government has not provided any, it then lacks the moral right to resort to any punitive measures.

The Lagos-Ibadan expressway is Nigeria’s main expressway, providing the primary link between Lagos, the former administrative capital and major commercial centre and other parts of Nigeria and hence, a road of primary economic and social importance to the nation. It is, therefore, disheartening that a simple job of waste disposal has turned such a vital gateway into an eyesore. Imagine the number of foreigners that ply the road daily. Imagine their perception of the country. For our entire cry about attracting foreign investment into the country, if we cannot take care of elementary things such as waste collection and disposal, we might as well forget it. The illegal dumpsites at Ibafo and just before Asese represent the shame of a nation and seriously undermines the rebranding project of the Federal Government.

We heard the governor, OGD, saying recently that he is leaving behind a prosperous economy for his successor. One has no concrete facts to dispute that. What he, however, forgot to add is that he is equally leaving tonnes of rubbish for him to deal with along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. This, of course, is the burden of Senator Ibikunle Amosun, the governor-elect of Ogun State. Perhaps, the people of Arepo, Magboro, Ibafo, Asese, Pakuro, Olowotedo, Mowe and other such settlements ( in the Obafemi Owode Local Council area of the state) along the Lagos- Ibadan Expressway voted massively for Amosun during the last election because they needed a breath of fresh air. They are tired of breathing contaminated and polluted air. Hence, the need for Amosun and his team to quickly conceive strategic means of managing wastes along this route and indeed other parts of the state. The time to do that is now. The time for celebration is not now. What the people voted for is action packed and result oriented governance.

He should take a cue from Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), the action governor of Lagos State, who has since forgotten his landslide victory at the poll and moved on to other useful things. For instance, Fashola attended the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, South Africa immediately after the election while some of his colleagues were still popping champagnes. From south Africa, Fashola immediately moved to Canada in continuation of his mission to ensure that the Lagos Light Rail project becomes a reality. This is why Lagos is working! Ogun state, being so close to Lagos, must not be left to be buried under heaps of rubbish. This is the burden of Amosun. The people are yearning for good governance. They won’t settle for anything less.

All across the southwest, the people want performing governments. They are tired of billboards government. They want real governance. They have heard of Fashola. They have been to Lagos. They have seen it working. And they said to themselves why not here. This is why I don’t envy Amosun and the other southwest governor-elect. The bar of governance has been raised by someone else. They need to work extra hard to win the confidence and trust of the people. This is the burden that Amosun and co. will have to bear. As for Amosun, he will need more than his sky-reaching and flamboyant cap to move Ogun along the right path.

•Tayo Ogunbiyi sent in this piece from Ogun State.