The question is how many? And what’s the proximity to each other? How many bus stops have waste bins beside them?
naptu2:
Institutional memory and ecology of istration.
One of the things that amazes md in this country is that we often solve problems, then forget that we've solved the problem and, more importantly, forget how we solved the problem and so we re-introduce that problem.
Someone asked a question a few days ago and I was happily surprised that everybody else knew the answer.
She asked why the beautiful new bus stops in Lagos did not have benches. People replied with the short answer, but I'm going to tell the story from the beginning.
Sometime between 1983-1985 the Lagos State Government built big new bus stop shelters across the state. These shelters were built with concrete, were quite roomy (so you'd be sheltered, no matter how heavy the rain was) and had enough benches to seat a reasonable number of commuters. It seemed like a perfect idea.
But, unfortunately these bus stop shelters became the homes of lunatics, area boys, homeless people and NURTW thugs. Commuters could not seek shelter in them because of the kind of people that occupied the shelters. They became dangerous places, especially st night. It was so bad that some of the shelters were eventually dismantled (eg, the bus stop shelter on First Avenue in Ikoyi).
Subsequent governments (Marwa and Fashola) built much smaller bus stop shelters, so that commuters would be sheltered from the sun and rain, but the shelters would be too small to serve as homes for lunatics and thugs. The government had learnt.
Ambode's huge mistake
Twice a week, very early in the morning between 1979-1983, I watched payloaders, bulldozers, compactors and humoungous trucks of the Lagos State Waste Disposal Board (LSWDB) evacuate refuse from a huge dump in Lafiaji as I drove past. Those giant equipment often held up traffic. There were many similar refuse dumps and large waste bins across Lagos.
Despite the efforts of the LSWDB, Lagos was known as the dirtiest city in the world. Foreign TV stations, newspapers and magazines often showed pictures of refuse heaps in Lagos. Most Nigerians felt that Lagos wasn't really as bad as it was being portrayed in the Western media.
Rasaki came and his era wasn't too different from Jakande. However, I noticed that the LSWDB did not evacuate refuse as regularly as they used to. Rasaki eventually converted the LSWDB into LAWMA and placed thd management of LAWMA in the hands of the local governments.
Then came the worst era in the history of Lagos. LAWMA completely stopped evacuating refuse during the Oyinlola era. Those large waste bins overflowed with refuse and the trash took over entire streets. The dumps became so full of waste that people dumped their waste anywhere, including on the median of major highways like Ikorodu Road and Lekki Expressway. People relied on cart pushers to evacuate their waste for them. No sane person could dispute the fact that Lagos was the dirtiest city in the world at that time. Colonel Oyinlola recently claimed that people deliberately dumped refuse on the streets in order to sabotage his government.
Things weren't much different in the Marwa era.
Then came Bola Tinubu. He scrapped the practice of having large waste dumps and bins by the roadside. He also banned the activities of carte pushers. Instead, private companies were given franchises to go from home to home to collect refuse from residents. The franchisees would then take the refuse to LAWMA's transfer loading stations and LAWMA would dispose of the waste.
This meant that there was no need to have piles of rubbish on the roadside. Residents were compelled to pay a refuse tax and this meant that they had to use the service in order to get value for their money.
The refuse heaps across the state vanished! In fact, for the first time, the foreign media stopped referring to Lagos as the dirtiest city in the world.
Fashola came and improved the system a bit by ensuring that the private companies used compactors to transport the waste, rather than open trucks.
Now Ambode is here and he has brought back the huge waste bins and restricted the activities of the private companies. I understand what he is trying to do and he has good intentions, but those large waste bins on the road side are a very bad idea. There is no way that Lagosians will resist the temptation to turn them into large refuse dumps with waste spilling on to the streets. I've already seen it happen on Alexander Avenue. Very small waste bins are ok, but those large waste bins will be a disaster.
Those dumps, apart from being unhygenic and an eyesore, will be a PR disaster for him like they were for Colonel Oyinlola. The best strategy remains the strategy used by Bola Tinubu, i.e. intercept the waste in homes, factories and offices, before it gets on the street.
Ambode was forced to return to the PSP system because the dumpster system does not work in Lagos.
KillahPriest:
This should clearly tell you that there's an infrastructure deficit in the waste disposal sector. Why not make it unnecessary to go long distances just to dispose of trash by providing adequate, necessary disposal mechanisms and then, you won't have to perform these skits
some people are not just different from pigs……i hope the govt puts in more effort on the enforcement drive, some people needs to be made a scapegoat jail them without the option of fine or community service will be a better option
KillahPriest:
This should clearly tell you that there's an infrastructure deficit in the waste disposal sector. Why not make it unnecessary to go long distances just to dispose of trash by providing adequate, necessary disposal mechanisms and then, you won't have to perform these skits
Nobody goes long distances to dispose of trash in Lagos. Haven't you ever heard of PSP??
I sometimes spend weeks with my trash piled high in wait for PSP to come without any of them showing up.
Put the infrastructures in place and pick up these trashes as at when due, and no one would be contracting Fashola to dump waste at the median where it will be impossible for Lawma to ignore.
Do the right thing and stop chasing low hanging fruits.
Brendaniel:
Just wondering if the guy's name happened to be Emeka or Chinedu, the kind of tribal hate that would have been on this thread from some of the people commenting calmly on this thread now that his name Fashola.
Must you make everything about Ndigbo? There is no tribe in Nigeria that you wouldn't find in Lagos, why must you inject Ndigbo victim mentality into every single thing?
Brendaniel:
Just wondering if the guy's name happened to be Emeka or Chinedu, the kind of tribal hate that would have been on this thread from some of the people commenting calmly on this thread now that his name Fashola.
Let me sing that rasta man's campaign song for Fashola...
Must you make everything about Ndigbo? There is no tribe in Nigeria that you wouldn't find in Lagos, why must you inject Ndigbo victim mentality into every single thing?
Bikonu rest.
Bexause that is what you people do, you are only waiting for when an Igbo man commits an offense so that you can all show that hatred you people have planted and grown in your hearts...
That's why I will keep calling you people out, ask yourself if the name was Emeka, is this type of comment you would have seeing all over the thread even from you...
KillahPriest:
This should clearly tell you that there's an infrastructure deficit in the waste disposal sector. Why not make it unnecessary to go long distances just to dispose of trash by providing adequate, necessary disposal mechanisms and then, you won't have to perform these skits
Bexause that is what you people do, you are only waiting for when an Igbo man commits an offense so that you can all show that hatred you people have planted and grown in your hearts...
That's why I will keep calling you people out, ask yourself if the name was Emeka, is this type of comment you would have seeing all over the thread even from you...
Abeg park well jare...
Ndigbo are so hated in ala Yoruba that you can now see 4 generations of Yoruba speaking Ndigbo families in there.
And the good thing is, not one of them are looking to go back to al'igbo despite the so called hate. If anything more are pouring into ala Yoruba daily to seek their fortune, and nothing wrong with that.
His name is fashola,not chinedu,but the sophisticated tribe will tell you that it's the tribe that enters night bus to Lagos that makes the state dirty
Ishilove:
This is so annoying. So who is he leaving the trash for?
Why does the Gowon estate market not have a proper waste disposal management plan with Lawma?? All of them get fault
Well said madam.
Na all of us get fault with the low expectations we have of our folks in different government positions at the local, state and federal levels either in the lawmaking or executive branch.
What enlightenment work do we have to do to raise our expectations of what is done with the taxes we pay, the taxes received on our behalf as well as loans to be paid forever are properly used to employ civil servants that are well paid for government services and com,mon utilities
Ndigbo are so hated in ala Yoruba that you can now see 4 generations of Yoruba speaking Ndigbo families in there.
And the good thing is, not one of them are looking to go back to al'igbo despite the so called hate. If anything more are pouring into ala Yoruba daily to seek their fortune, and nothing wrong with that.
Ishilove:
This is so annoying. So who is he leaving the trash for?
Why does the Gowon estate market not have a proper waste disposal management plan with Lawma?? All of them get fault
This is a recurrent menace all over Lagos....it's very simple to solve,any street where this happens,each property owner should be held responsible for the clearing by fines,anyone who doesn't co operate should have their properties sealed... Residents should be responsible for the clearing of their garbage both home and street.....if you allow people come drop garbage on Ur street irresponsibly,then be ready to pay.
Brendaniel:
Just wondering if the guy's name happened to be Emeka or Chinedu, the kind of tribal hate that would have been on this thread from some of the people commenting calmly on this thread now that his name Fashola.
Let me sing that rasta man's campaign song for Fashola...
Do re mi Fashola ti de oooo, Eko o ni baje!!!
But this Fashola wants to spoil Lagos.
See how most of the comments are forming expert at waste management cos the name no enter the agenda
some people are not just different from pigs……i hope the govt puts in more effort on the enforcement drive, some people needs to be made a scapegoat 
