Longtong Ibrahim
Residents and business owners in Kano have tasked the state government to ensure timely and regular evacuation of refuse at collection centers, junctions, and marketplaces.
Stallion Times reports that on assumption of office in May 2023, the state Governor, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf declared a state of emergency on Refuse Evacuation and immediately planned to clear refuse heaps on the streets of the Kano metropolis.
Though, he lamented how the previous administration had left only two dump trucks for refuse evacuation but emphasized his commitment to keeping the environment clean by launching Operation NAZAFI and later reopened the Kano State Refuse Management and Sanitation Board (REMASAB).
Recently, Stallion Times visited some areas around the metropolis and discovered that some refuse collection centers were left uncleared weeks after the usual last Saturday of the month routine sanitation in July.
One such collection center is the one close to Danmarna filling station, before Ahmadiyya junction on Airport Road in Kano.
Residents, traders, pedestrians, and drivers who ply the road expressed worry over the non-clearance of the huge refuse over some time, stating how it affects their businesses, and way of life, and becoming a health concern.
Sa’adatu Sale, a petty trader by the corner of Darmana filling station lamented how she had been enduring the stench while she met her daily needs in her place of business.
She said sometimes the refuse is evacuated a few days after the monthly sanitation but sometimes it stays for weeks.
“This place is a major road and for me, it is not nice piling refuse here because it used to slow vehicular traffic and causes accidents, especially in the evenings during the rush hours.
“Sometimes these boys (scavengers) will collect refuse from within Sabon Gari and dump them here.
“The big challenge is when it is cleared, nobody dumps refuse again until the day of sanitation and when not clear immediately, the refuse piles up again,” she lamented.
Mrs. Sale pointed out that, she would be glad if the refuse would be evacuated almost immediately after sanitation to prevent any outbreak of disease or a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
She called on the government to station a big metal trash dustbin at the site for easy evacuation.
A Roadside, trader who sells Suya (Roasted stick meat) and chicken by Chediya-uku junction, along Gwargwarwa quarters in Bridage, Yusuf Abdullahi, said the huge pile of refuse is affecting his business.
“Customers no longer have parking space to patronize me, those who eventually find a place to park, complain about the health hazard of patronizing me because of the huge pile of refuse that is almost directly opposite my stall.
“In the past, there used to be a container for people to come throw in their refuse daily and on the days of sanitation but each time when the container is taken away to evacuate collected refuse, people still come and throw their refuse on the same spot.”
He however appealed to the state government to bring back the big metal dumpster to avoid indiscriminate dumping of refuse on the main road.
Stallion Times observed that refuse is dumped indiscriminately in some parts of Kano metropolitan areas, particularly on major streets.
Some of these waste materials are dumped close to markets. Just under the flyover bridge of Sabon Gari market by Igbo Road is a long pile of refuse waiting to be collected for disposal. Sadly, these refuse are allowed to stay for weeks without being evacuated.
A customer, Umar Shehu, of the popular Yankura and Sabon Gari market decried the huge heap of refuse on the Court Road and France Road junction of the market.
Aminu Wada, a wheelbarrow trader, pointed out that traders and scavengers in the market repeatedly come to dump refuse as they want because there is no appropriate channel for disposing of them.
The business owners are calling on the state government to immediately provide an alternative for waste collection in the area.
A passerby, Faith Ayomide, said the indiscriminate littering of streets with refuse may result in environmental pollution and outbreak of diseases if not checked.
