Allegations and counter-allegations as Takie community decries environmental pollution

Located in the heart of Ogbomoso, Takie Square Brent Mall which was officially inaugurated on August 8, 2019 was warmly received by people in the community. On the day it was launched, eminent personalities and people from diverse walks of life thronged the mall to either shop or window shop and the mall has been enjoying huge patronage from members of the community and its environs.

The patronage may not be unconnected to the fact that it is the biggest mall in the town. However, the reception by the immediate host community and the cordial relationship have turned sour as a result of alleged environmental pollution from the mall which is said to be causing discomfort for residents and business owners at Takie Square, Ogbomoso.

The Nigerian Tribune gathered that several efforts have been made by the people of the community, to halt the alleged threat constituted by environmental pollution that the company is causing to the populace. A delegation of the community was said to have met with the manager of the mall but the visits till now have yielded no positive result.

A letter, dated November 19, 2019, written by Takie community was sent to the Head of Local Administration (HLA) through the Director of Environmental Services and Director of Town Planning at Ogbomoso Central Local Council Development Authority (OCLCDA) to report the management of the mall.

The community also sent a copy of the letter to the Police Area Command, Ogbomoso; Divisional Police Office, Owode, Ogbomoso; Department of State Security Service, Ogbomoso and the socio-cultural organization, Ogbomoso Parapo

The letter titled ‘Reporting disturbance caused by Brent Mall which is affecting our business activities and hindering our sales due to lack of septic tanks to accommodate its waste liquid content which is channeled into public gutter passing in front of our shops’ was made available to the Nigerian Tribune. In the letter, the community called on the appropriate authorities to ensure that the mall faces the wrath of environmental laws.

Apart from the letter and the meetings with the mall’s manager, it was reported that protests were staged by the residents and business owners in the community to force the management of Brent to yield to their yearnings.

Members of Takie community told Nigerian Tribune the agonising predicaments that the mall is causing to the community.

A beverage seller in the community, Mrs Oyeladun Adeomi, stated that the pollution caused by the mall poses health challenges to the people in the area, and that several steps taken by the community had always yielded no results.

While decrying the failure of the management of the mall to find lasting solutions to the problem, Mrs Adeomi advised the management to dig a deep septic tank that could contain the wastes produced by the company.

Though Brent Mall management had stated that there are other sources through which water flows to the general gutter, Adeomi who claimed that she has been doing business in the axis for more than 15 years insisted that claims is just a flimsy excuse, lamenting the levity with which the environmental health department of the LCDA had handled the issue.

She maintained that the government has the power to compel the management of the mall to put in place measures that would improve the health and welfare of the people.

Another resident, Mrs Adeola Adedoyin, a pharmacy owner, proffered some solutions to the problem: construction of wide and deep septic tank, laying fat pipes leading to Takie Roundabout and adopting strategies of storing up the liquid waste to be flushed out at night when people are sleeping.

She added: “In the morning when they flush their food particles and liquid waste, the odour is unbearable and this is hazardous to our health. And that is exactly the time we open our shops every day.

“I have been treating infection for the past few days. So, I suggest that they should be flushing at night when everybody will have gone home. We are tired of the pollution.”

Another patenet medicine shop owner, Mr Sadiq Atanda, lamented that the management of the mall did not bother about the health of the people, stating that three waste drums of the mall were stationed beside his shop, and due to the odour, he always left his shop especially.

A resident who identified himself as Olamide described the negligence of the mall to the protest of the community as worrisome. He stated that rather than giving back to the community, the mall’s management decided to inflict hardship on the people.

Another area in which the pollution is affecting the people, according to business owners in the community, is reduction in sales volume. A watch seller and repairer, Mr Olatunde Olaniyi, stated that “the offensive odour has affected our businesses. Some of our customers have refused to come to our shops because of the odour caused by the mall. Some asked us to take drastic measures to put a stop to the ugly occurrence. It is, indeed, affecting our businesses. We are, therefore, appealing to the government to come to our rescue and take stringent measures against Brent.”

It was also alleged that the environmental health officers at the Ogbomoso Central LCDA have been compromised as the government workers have not taken any serious measures to resolve the issue but Nigerian Tribune’s attempt to get them to talk about the issue yielded no positive result as none of the phone numbers called was picked.

One of the officers in the council office stated that, “it is our head office that is saddled with the responsibility of divulging any official statement on behalf of the office. I can only advise that you call back because they are in a meeting right now.”

However, the branch manager of the mall, Mr Godwin Brown, told Nigerian Tribune that some of the allegations and protests were exaggerated. He claimed that there are houses in the community that also divert their solid and liquid wastes into the gutter, adding that these wastes from neighbouring houses contribute to the environmental pollution.

He said “I am aware that there are houses whose waste water also passes through the gutter from their kitchens, toilets and bathrooms. The company understands the importance of healthy living in the society and strategies have been designed by the management to find lasting solutions to the misunderstanding.”

Brown emphasised that Brent Mall was registered with one of the government-certified waste management companies that is saddled with the responsibility of packing the mall’s wastes every two days, and that the liquid waste from the mall is treated with chlorine.

“There have been series of unjustifiable allegations leveled against us. As I speak, our drums outside there have been emptied by our waste management company,” Brown stated, dismissing insinuations that the mall’s management was delaying the process of fixing the problem.

Whether the protest was genuine or not, whether we are guilty or not, our management will play its role as a good and masses-friendly business organisation. In fact, our chairman is aware of the situation and he has made a pledge to fix the misunderstanding. He is a man of his words. There was a time he spoke extensively with an elder in the community via phone call. Our engineers will come from Lagos and rectify the problem.

“Pertaining to the gutter that they claimed was producing offensive odour, all the waste food particles that could cause air pollution are channeled a place we dug within our premises. Our maintenance section is also saddled with the responsibility of packing such particles that could flow with water with a view not to cause pollution. It is only the water that goes out to the general gutter. This and many more strategies we have put in place to find lasting solutions to the issues raised by the community,” he said.

He however, cautioned the community to always avoid being unlawful in any kind of protest, citing the example of the day representatives of the community  brought cement, wanting to block the funnel where water passes to the general gutter. He hinted that during the struggle, one of the community people slapped one of the workers, adding that it took the intervention of mobile policemen to douse the tension. Such act, he said, was uncalled for.

He further appealed to the community to see the issue would be solved amicably, noting that the community people had been patronising the mall since its opening.

Both the manager and members of the community confirmed that the chairman of the company gave a promise to solve the matter in two weeks.

As the countdown begins, people are watching to see whether the situation will finally be laid to rest.