By Chijioke Okoronkwo, News Agency of Nigeria(NAN)
Daily, especially in morning and evening hours, shouts of ‘bola! bola! bola! rend the air in the streets of satellite towns in the Federal Capital Territory.
These screeches signal the arrival or presence of informal refuse collectors known as ‘Mai Bola’ or ‘Baban Bola’ in the local parlance.
Environmental commentators say the ‘Baban Bolas’ undoubtedly provide de facto essential services—compensating for lack of bin wagons from the local authorities—but, in turn, they constitute an inestimable ecological threat.
Investigations indicate that most of the refuse collected by these informal collectors in the FCT end up in the rivers, streams and canals; making these water bodies polluted and hazardous.
From Karu to Jikwoyi, Karimo, Gwagwalada, Zuba, Kubwa, among others, the nuisance is blatant: canals, drains and streams are being choked by waste, resulting in clogged waterways, flooding, and water contamination.
Experts say indiscriminate dumping of waste in water bodies directly exacerbates climate change by fueling a vicious circle of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and ecosystem degradation
More so, health experts say the resultant health hazards include diseases such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery, Hepatitis A/E, Giardiasis, and E. coli infections, as well as the proliferation of vectors that breed in polluted water.
In Kubwa, a stark and disturbing reality stares residents in the face: Baban Bolas bold-facedly park their carts by the bridges at PW, Phase 4, and Phase 3, among others, and empty their garbage into the streams, unfazed.
Most of the time, efforts by passers-by or residents to confront them are met with strong resistance and violent threats.
It is worth noting that security operatives on patrol also drive past them while perpetrating these acts without arrests or reprimands.
The confines stink; whenever it drizzles, it gets worse–the rotting piles of garbage in the streams and the corners of the bridges release acrid smells that pollute the air and make it hard to breathe within the precincts.
A resident of Kubwa, Mrs Aisha Danjuma, said it was regrettable that the Baban Bolas had become uncontrollable and above the law.
“They are always violent and ready to stab any one at the slightest rebuke.
“Any time it rains or the winds comes on strong, the stench from the stream and the garbage therein make breathing difficult,’’ she said.
Danjuma appealed to the relevant authorities to rise to their responsibilities and stop the informal refuse collectors from dumping wastes into the streams and the slope paving of the bridges.
Another resident, Mr Joseph Ude, said the problem created a sense of lawlessness.
Ude said there used to be a dumpsite at the Kubwa Expressway but was regrettably shut down.
“Sincerely, I do not think this situation is obtainable in any other clime; how can these boys collect wastes; get paid, only to pour everything into streams and their surroundings?
“They are very defiant and do not hide while doing it; all classes of people walk and drive past but little or no challenge.
“One day, I confronted one of them; querying him on why he is polluting the stream.
“His reaction was terrible; he rained abuses on me; when I started taking photos of him, he picked bottle and dashed towards me; if not for passers-by that intervened, it would have resulted in something unpleasant,’’ he said.
He said that something urgent must be done to stop the menace, as society should not be lawless regarding waste management.
A Babanbola, Aminu Bello, said the dumpsite at Phase 3 Expressway had been taken over by a developer; hence, they (the informal refuse collectors) had no other choice to dispose in the nearest streams.
“I used to go the site at Kubwa Phase 3 Expressway to dump waste but I cannot go there again; they are building houses there now,’’ he said.
Another Babanbola, Abubakar Isah, said he was even happy that the dumpsite was taken over because it was far from where he operated.
Isah said it was convenient for him to dispose waste in the streams within the town instead of pushing his cart all the way to the expressway.
He said the dumping of waste into water bodies had persisted for years but was worsened by a developer’s takeover of the Phase 3 dumpsite.
Heap of refuse bestrides phase 3 stream by kubwa Expressway
For Bello and Isah, all they see is the convenience of emptying their wastes in nearby streams; they are oblivious to the environmental havoc they are wreaking on the community.
Perceptive stakeholders are worried over the apparent complicity and lukewarmness of the relevant local officials in the deteriorating waste situation in Kubwa.
Memuna Mohammed, Inventory Officer, Chanja Datti Recycling Company, Abuja, said the firm was located at Kubwa Expressway by Phase 3 but had to relocate to Dutse in 2025.
She said the company operated at Kubwa Expressway alongside Whitman Waste Disposal Company but both firms had to leave when the site was taken over by a developer.
“We were with Whitman before at Kubwa Expressway by Phase 3; they collect wastes while we collect recyclables like plastic bottles and papers but the site has been sold to Urban Shelter, a developer, who is now building commercial mall on the site.
“Now, in Kubwa, there is no approved dumpsite; why will the Baban Bolas not dump waste into the streams? Where else will they dump the waste? It is a very unfortunate situation.’’
According to Mohammed, the challenge is not only in Kubwa as other parts of FCT face same problem.
She said that when the firms operated at the site, Kubwa residents, aside the Babanbola, were bringing waste straight to the dumpsite and it was serving an out-and-out purpose.
“Look at the streams and rivers in and around Kubwa; they are all polluted and foul-smelling; the concerned authorities need to do something urgent to address the menace,” she said.
Recently, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) announced it had begun the procurement processes for the award of contracts for waste collection and evacuation in FCT satellite towns.
Mr Abdulkadir Zulkifku, Coordinator, Satellite Towns Development Department (STDD), said that the tenure of the previous contractors had elapsed.
He said that in the interim, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, had directed the STDD to clear all dump sites pending the finalisation of the procurement processes for the new contractors.
Also recently, Mr Osilama Braimah, the immediate past Director, Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) said the board had engaged 40 contractors to keep the FCT clean.
“In a nutshell, the AEPB is responsible for the enforcement of all environmental legislations and abatement of all forms of environmental degradation and nuisance.’’
Braimah said that contractors had been fulfilling their obligations by keeping Abuja city clean through routine evacuation of refuse dump every two weeks.
He said that the board noted the visible pile of refuse dumps in some parts of satellite towns and area councils.
However, Braimah said that those areas were not under the jurisdiction of AEPB.
Braimah said that except for Abuja Municipal Area Council, which AEPB was responsible for, the remaining five councils were not under its purview.
Observers say, by the foregoing, the mandate of sanitation and waste management in Kubwa lies upon the Bwari Area Council.
Regrettably, all efforts made to get input—or indeed any reactions—from the council were unsuccessful.
On a general note, environmentalists warn that Nigerian rivers and streams continue to face serious pollution challenges.
Dr Olabisi Awoniyi, an Environmentalist with the Lower Niger River Basin Authority (LNRBA), said rivers were synonymous with life and remained vital sources of sustenance for humans, animals, and plants.
He said that Nigerian rivers suffered from significant pollution, mainly caused by industrial waste, poor sewage management, and agricultural runoff, among other factors.
“Through the rivers, we have our drinking water, it supports agriculture through irrigation, and fisheries,” he said.
According to Awoniyi, the result of introducing harming substances into water bodies is a negative effect on ecosystems and human health.
“So when harmful substances such as industrial waste, human waste in form of sewage, chemicals and plastics are introduced into our rivers, they become polluted and the effects are better imagined,” he said.
For Kubwa residents and conscious environmentalists, the situation currently offers only a sense of melancholy, as the Baban Bolas remain defiant and intractable.
Essentially, stakeholders say the Bwari Area Council must shake off its seeming inertia and indifference by providing bin wagons, setting up waste collection points as well as a task force to monitor the activities of Baban Bolas.
They say the area council should seek collaboration with the AEPB, STDD and other relevant authorities with a view to ridding Kubwa water bodies of wastes and promoting healthy environment. (NANFeatures)
