Tuesday, 17 June 2014

Towards Environmental Sustainability

Ensuring proper waste disposal

MDG Goal 7 “ensure environmental sustainability”


Donation of twelve (12) waste collection bins to Sabon Afaka community, Igabi LGA of Kaduna State in 2010.  This is my contribution to the actualization of the Millennium Development Goal 7 in that small community. A community without a culture of proper waste disposal, residents takes to the drainage and open field to dump refuse. This led to blockage in the available drainages in the community and accumulation of stagnant dirty water which aid the breeding of mosquitoes that causes malaria. Dumping refuse in open field within the community also led to the spread of air-borne diseases which is dangerous to the health of the people and their general hygiene is compromised.  

This is a common trend in Nigeria, even in urban communities; the culture of proper waste disposal must be cultivated. We have modern houses without waste bin and drainages and the resident often dump refuse indiscriminately around their houses or any undeveloped property. We need to put an end to this unhealthy practice and ensure we maintain a clean and green environment.


Regular environmental sanitation should be observed in our communities and government should empower environmental sanitation agencies to inspect from street to street, domestic properties, industries and ensure people comply with the environmental and sanitation laws of the country and apply proper sanctions when necessary.

The challenge of environmental sustainability needs to be holistically attended to; from the problem of desert encroachment in the north, erosion and land slide in the west, to oil spillage in the south and flood in most part of the country. The government and agencies saddled with such responsibility needs to be proactive and pragmatic in their approach to sustaining the environment. The plan by the government to build green walls to cover several thousand kilometers to prevent desert encroachment and prevention of oil spillage and cleaning of already affected community should go beyond the pages of newspapers but to reality.

The indiscriminate discharge of exhaust, burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests needs to be controlled to prevent the continuous depletion of the ozone layer and green house effect causing global warming. Liquid chemicals from industries into our rivers need to be addressed because it poses great danger to our aquatic animals and unemployment to fishermen. Companies with such chemical liquid waste need to build water treatment plant and ensure the liquid is safe before discharge into our rivers.

We all need to work together to ensure environmental sustainability and preserve nature, it begins with you and me, if we do the needful in our sphere of contact and mobilize others around us to do likewise; together we can make the world a better place and ensure environmental sustainability. 

No comments:

Post a Comment