Cholera surge: Ogun residents lament, decry indiscriminate refuse disposal

The indiscriminate dumping of refuse on the road along Quarry Road, Abeokuta, Ogun State has become a source of lamentations to residents.

This is so due to recent surge in cholera cases in the state.

The residents feared that the surge in cholera cases might rise if caution was not taken to curb the indiscriminate dumping of refuse.

It was gathered that on the long stretch of the road that connected some of the communities to the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway refuse was dumped on the median on some parts of the road while a heap of refuse was seen in front of an abandoned land.

According to the residents, the refuse dump did not only pose a health challenge but may also contribute to a surge in the cholera cases currently witnessed in some parts of the state.

A resident, Akinde Raman, noted that the refuse could be a breeding ground for the spread of diseases especially cholera which cases had been recorded in Ogun State.

“Dumping refuse on the road is improper but you know when there is no alternative for people to drop their refuse, we will have a situation like this.

"The problem associated with this is enormous; aside from causing odour to the environment, the recent outbreak in cholera recorded in Ogun can get to a high degree with a situation like this,” he volunteered.

Another resident, Wale Shoneye, blamed the irregular evacuation of refuse in the community by the waste management agency as responsible for the indiscriminate dumping of refuse.

“I think why people resorted to dumping refuse on the road is because the waste management people do not often come to pick up refuse regularly. Sometimes, they will come once in a month and sometimes, you may not see them in the community for two months.”

A resident along the road, Esther Thomas, appealed to the Ogun State Government to provide a suitable waste bin where refuse could be dumped so as to deter those dumping refuse on the road from doing so.

“As you can see, there is no waste bin around here, which I think is the reason why people are dumping refuse on the road. If the government can provide a waste bin somewhere around here, people will stop dumping refuse on the road.”

Contacted, The Press Officer, Ogun State Ministry of Environment, Rotimi Oduniyi, faulted laziness on the part of the residents in dumping refuse at designated area where a waste bin was placed as the reason why they resorted to dumping refuse on the road.

He noted that efforts were on to clear the refuse off the road.

 “It is not government that is dumping refuse there, it’s our people who are dumping it there and it is because they are lazy. We have a designated place at Panseke for them to dump the refuse but many of them are lazy to go there.

“Efforts are on to clear the refuse because government has not neglected the refuse there. Also, most of the PSPs we are using are private enterprises and they’ve complained that people don’t bring their refuse out when they get to the communities.

"We have asked people to have refuse bins in their homes where this PSP can pick it up but they would not,” Oduniyi concluded.