naptu2:
Institutional memory and ecology of administration.


One of the things that amazes me in this country is that we often solve problems, then forget that we've solved the problem and, more importantly, forget how we solved the problem and so we re-introduce that problem.


Someone asked a question a few days ago and I was happily surprised that everybody else knew the answer.

She asked why the beautiful new bus stops in Lagos did not have benches. People replied with the short answer, but I'm going to tell the story from the beginning.


Sometime between 1983-1985 the Lagos State Government built big new bus stop shelters across the state. These shelters were built with concrete, were quite roomy (so you'd be sheltered, no matter how heavy the rain was) and had enough benches to seat a reasonable number of commuters. It seemed like a perfect idea.

But, unfortunately these bus stop shelters became the homes of lunatics, area boys, homeless people and NURTW thugs. Commuters could not seek shelter in them because of the kind of people that occupied the shelters. They became dangerous places, especially at night. It was so bad that some of the shelters were eventually dismantled (eg, the bus stop shelter on First Avenue in Ikoyi).

Subsequent governments (Marwa and Fashola) built much smaller bus stop shelters, so that commuters would be sheltered from the sun and rain, but the shelters would be too small to serve as homes for lunatics and thugs. The government had learnt.



Ambode's huge mistake

Twice a week, very early in the morning between 1979-1983, I watched payloaders, bulldozers, compactors and humoungous trucks of the Lagos State Waste Disposal Board (LSWDB) evacuate refuse from a huge dump in Lafiaji as I drove past. Those giant equipment often held up traffic. There were many similar refuse dumps and large waste bins across Lagos.

Despite the efforts of the LSWDB, Lagos was known as the dirtiest city in the world. Foreign TV stations, newspapers and magazines often showed pictures of refuse heaps in Lagos. Most Nigerians felt that Lagos wasn't really as bad as it was being portrayed in the Western media.

Rasaki came and his era wasn't too different from Jakande. However, I noticed that the LSWDB did not evacuate refuse as regularly as they used to. Rasaki eventually converted the LSWDB into LAWMA and placed the management of LAWMA in the hands of the local governments.

Then came the worst era in the history of Lagos. LAWMA completely stopped evacuating refuse during the Oyinlola era. Those large waste bins overflowed with refuse and the trash took over entire streets. The dumps became so full of waste that people dumped their waste anywhere, including on the median of major highways like Ikorodu Road and Lekki Expressway. People relied on cart pushers to evacuate their waste for them. No sane person could dispute the fact that Lagos was the dirtiest city in the world at that time. Colonel Oyinlola recently claimed that people deliberately dumped refuse on the streets in order to sabotage his government.

Things weren't much different in the Marwa era.


Then came Bola Tinubu. He scrapped the practice of having large waste dumps and bins by the roadside. He also banned the activities of cart pushers. Instead, private companies were given franchises to go from home to home to collect refuse from residents. The franchisees would then take the refuse to LAWMA's transfer loading stations and LAWMA would dispose of the waste.

This meant that there was no need to have piles of rubbish on the roadside. Residents were compelled to pay a refuse tax and this meant that they had to use the service in order to get value for their money.

The refuse heaps across the state vanished! In fact, for the first time, the foreign media stopped referring to Lagos as the dirtiest city in the world.

Fashola came and improved the system a bit by ensuring that the private companies used compactors to transport the waste, rather than open trucks.

Now Ambode is here and he has brought back the huge waste bins and restricted the activities of the private companies. I understand what he is trying to do and he has good intentions, but those large waste bins on the road side are a very bad idea. There is no way that Lagosians will resist the temptation to turn them into large refuse dumps with waste spilling on to the streets. I've already seen it happen on Alexander Avenue. Very small waste bins are ok, but those large waste bins will be a disaster.

Those dumps, apart from being unhygenic and an eyesore, will be a PR disaster for him like they were for Colonel Oyinlola. The best strategy remains the strategy used by Bola Tinubu, i.e. intercept the waste in homes, factories and offices, before it gets on the street.

RatelNews:
See the attached image, this was a waste dump site at the famous onipanu bus stop. I wonder which of these government, Fashola's government or Ambode's government handled or is handling the issue of waste management better? Did you feel the impact of waste management in the days of LAWMA or now the VISIONSCOPE is handling it? Share your views in the comment below. It will be nice if this makes front page on Nairaland.

KrystosCJ:
All manner of waste can be found inside those large waste bins. Even aborted fetuses! Oh my goodness, Ambode is that what you want?! Receive sense and intercept the waste from homes. Waste business is social business and not-for-profit. Get a recycling plant for that.