I want the Lagos State government to rethink its decision to cancel the monthly sanitation exercise in the state. One of the reasons the government had given for the cancellation is that it would help boost commercial activities, but I want to disagree with this.
Lagos is the most populous state in the country, and this means that the waste that is being generated on a daily basis will be huge. However, this monthly sanitation exercise is officially the only time when many families come together to clean their environment.
While growing up, the ‘environmental’ days were so sacred, and everybody came out, including our parents and neighbours to clean the surroundings.
Apart from the general cleaning, this monthly exercise also taught the younger ones that cleanliness is next to godliness. That we all came out on a specific date to clean the environment is a great lesson that I am even instilling in my children now. Today, I work with them during the ‘environmental’ days, cleaning the surrounding, cutting the bushes and burning dirts.
The Lagos State government should look beyond the commercial angle in making this decision, and it is as a result of this that I want to urge Governor Akinwumi Ambode to have a rethink on the government’s decision to cancel the monthly exercise.
- Hakeem Alade,
Ita Elewa, Ikorodu.