A chairman in Festac Extension, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, Mr Peter Lamai is dissatisfied with the state of the neighborhood he has lived in for more than 50 years.
The former military veteran who spent 35 years in the Nigerian Army, asked people in the community to take responsibility by tidying up their surroundings.
He commented that despite repeated requests for community members to assist with environmental cleaning, they have declined to do so.
Mr. Lamai believes the environment is in a poor state majorly because most residents are not owners hence why many do not deem it fit to take care of their surroundings.
According to Mr. Lamai, the environment is in poor condition mostly as a result of the fact that the majority of residents do not own homes and hence do not see fit to maintain their surroundings.
He spoke vehemently when he urged the government to visit Festac Extension, an area he thought required attention from the government.
“We have called on people to come out and clean the gutters and their surroundings but they refused. We need the government to be involved and enforce environmental sanitation. There should be sanctions for those who refuse to clean their environments. The situation will not change except if the government does something. We need the presence of government in this place.” said Mr. Lamai.
On a tour of the area with Mr. Lamai, it was observed that the environment is gradually plummeting and needs to be cleaned up for residents to live comfortably.
Mr. Lamai also condemned residents who build shops for commercial purposes. He said the community is predominantly a residential area and commercializing the area is against the law.
“Residents are building shops despite the demolition of illegal structures that happened in 2017. Government should try to come in and investigate this place. Why are people building shops?” Mr. Lamai said.
On a tour of the area with Mr Lamai, it was observed that the environment is gradually plummeting and needs to be cleaned up for residents to live comfortably.
The supervising councilor for Environment and Waste Management in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, Comrade Gbenga Akinbinu, who is presently educating residents about the importance of maintaining a clean environment, was not available to comment at the time of filing this report.
Jeremiah Obaseki
Jeremiah is a Journalist who loves to tell the truth in the most attractive way. He tweets at @obasekijeremiah
