As i strolled home this evening, i saw a young man throw a biscuit wrap on the road and i just wish I could level up with him and "correct" him. I actually took pictures(these are the most decent pictures i have here) of the mindset of the average Nigerian.Most times i judge our minds to be myopic,bestial-permit me,we think like animals-,callous,unpatriotic and care free. We are hardly mindful of our sanity and comfort. Some people live in dirt and feel normal, some own shops pulling thousands of naira yet the dustbin beside them look appealing savoring like good meals. We really do not care about our health/hygiene. Go around markets, shops, some "face me-i face you- homes and attest to this: they wallow in refuse waiting for the Government to come to their aid.
Every Thursdays-in Lagos-is an Environmental Sanitation day for market people and shop owners.These traders hardly come out to clean not to talk of sweep their stalls. If they even make an attempt to sweep, they dump all by the roadside or in gutters. They bring out dirt from the gutter and leave them in front of their shops and keep on with trading. I mean, i see some of them come around their shops on those cleaning days watching for Law Enforcement agents while trying to sell. Lets not even mention the cleaning days for every last Saturday....hmm...all and sundry are guilty. I remember growing up on a street where neighbors even my Father and brothers would go out to sweep and tidy a small lane as a matter of fact. These days, we set out before environmental sanitation for our engagements, we stay indoors and just do not care about our streets and environment. Will government send people to keep our surroundings clean for us?
Some years ago, a friend of mine dropped dirt into a gutter, when I confronted her she tried to justify her action by saying she is not in London where the streets are dirt free but in "Naija" people throw stuff anywhere so she is liable to join.
I really get bothered when i see heaps of rubble, empty tins,refuse from homes etc stacked on the roads? Good gracious me, its grievous!!!. It shows you the mindset of the average Nigerian even when suited up or clothed to the teeth.
I mean a young banker i suppose, stepped out of an air conditioned Toyota car with a nylon from Sweet Sensation(a popular eatery in Nigeria)and she had the AUDACITY-permit me pls- to drop it on the road? Trust me, the illiterate miscreants who know how to "yabb"-booed and "abused"-her but she wouldn't even care to pick it up. She is one out of hundreds of us who eat in buses and throw them out of the window,in the comfort of our cars we prefer to fling on the road than drop on the floor of the car and pedestrians follow suite no matter how many yards away they are from a dust bin? Who is responsible for picking these dirt?
Yes,Government has a system that keeps the environment clean and tidy but why don't we take responsibility in case the streets are not swept? Most times, we act like animals who stop to defecate whenever they feel like but cats hide their "pooh-pooh"?
Personally, my bag could seem un-ladylike because i drop wraps and packs in there till i locate a dustbin and I confront friends who drop as little as recharge cards on the road.I fearlessly harass people sitting beside me in buses not to throw stuff on the road. Who will pick it up abeg? Our environmental agencies are partially active.I mean agencies who work tirelessly keeping the environment spic and span- sweep enclosed streets, walk ways, empty dustbins a least once or twice a week etc. Though in Lagos, they really try keeping the Central Business Districts, government-owned areas and Express roads neat but there are loads of other places that stink because Lagosians formed a bad habit of throwing dirt, refuse and all kinds of rotten things into rivers, gutters etc. Sometimes, i wonder if we are really sane?
Please do not blame the Government because we also make up the nation. It is a Government of the people for the people and by the people. We need to HELP keep Nigeria clean. Some of us can single-handedly provide dustbins in strategic positions and have agencies that take them off the roads once they are pouring over.
Let's be more responsible citizens who care for a nation such as this and see to it's welfare. I believe the citizens are the nation's builders, let us not wait for the Government because they are like me and you. Though the can enforce laws and orders, we must also imbibe good conducts and better morals. We must renew our minds and live by example!
KEEP NIGERIA CLEAN: drink from water bottles, pure water packs and drop them in dust bins or in your bags. In all use the dustbin or make your bags one till you get to a dust bin. Please love and adore the roads you stride on and do not leave that paper there :-))
