The Buhari Youth Organisation (BYO), Lagos State chapter, on Monday, called on government authorities to develop effective waste management policies in order to prevent waste hazards in their environments.
Mr Jide Bakare, the Publicity Secretary of the group, made this call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Bakare spoke against the backdrop of the flood that ravaged some parts of the country recently.
He said that the step had become imperative, especially in Lagos State, following the flood occasioned by continuous rains in the last two days.
“We call on the government to develop policies that will encourage effective disposal of wastes by members of the local community.
“The government should ensure a more effective implementation and monitoring system for the monthly sanitation because of the disposition of the public towards the exercise.
“Most people now respond nonchalantly to the monthly environmental sanitation exercise,’’ Bakare said.
Bakare said that the organisation had inaugurated a Monthly Community Service Initiative (MCSI) to complement the monthly sanitation days.
He said that the initiative was an offshoot of the Environmental Sustainability and Developmental Agenda of the organisation.
Bakare said that members of the group had gathered to clear up parts of the blocked canals beside the Alapere Estate at Alapere-Ketu, Kosofe Local Government Area on Saturday.
“The debris in the canal, which has formed a dump-site with about 90 per cent plastics and polythene content, makes the water to stink.
“This has been impacting negatively on the health of residents in the area as well as posing a big risk to biodiversity and environment cycle, so we have mobilised to clear it.
“The Lagos State Government should develop workable policies that will encourage the public to develop the right attitude towards effective disposal of wastes.
“Some parts of the state have been affected by the flood in the last two days because of blocked drains and canals, so we need to wake up,’’ he said.
He urged the government at all levels to see how waste management could be further expanded, as a commercial venture to provide jobs for the teeming population.
Bakare added that waste management could be an alternative source of generating power.
Meanwhile, the State Coordinator of the group, Mr AbdulWaheed Odunuga, told NAN that BYO was ready to join hands with the government to implement policies in this direction.
Odunuga also called on other youth groups to come aboard, through socially responsible initiatives in order to clean and develop the Nigerian environment.
NAN reports that BYO is established to propagate and promote youths with ideologies and values of the Grand Patron, President Muhammadu Buhari.
It will be recalled that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) recently predicted that Lagos alongside 10 other states would be affected by flood.
Residents of Oworonsoki, Ketu, Bariga, Ikorodu and Lekki areas of the state were affected by flood, following continuous rains on Saturday and Sunday.
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