RESIDENTS NOW CHANNEL SEWAGE INTO OPEN GUTTER-WAYS IN JAKANDE ESTATE COMMUNITY, AMUWO ODOFIN

By Gabriel Olawale

TROUBLE is brewing in Jakande Estate in Mile 2 area of Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos. The nonchalant attitude of residents of the Estate towards environmental health and sanitation leaves much to be desired and the unhealthy state of the surroundings has been cause for concern in recent times. 

A first time visitor to the estate through the Durbar Bus Stop end along Mile 2 – Badagry expressway or Fagbems filling station along Mile 2 – Oshodi expressway, is greeted with mountains of refuse adorning almost every street. 

The indiscriminate dumping of refuse that has become regular practice within the Estate, now constitutes the eyesore that has become harbinger of diseases and ill health. Worse still is the indiscriminate dumping of refuse coupled with poor handling and careless disposal of human waste (sewage) in open gutters and drainages. 

Residents and passers-by are compelled to hold their noses and cover their mouths to shut out the vile and offensive odour that emanates from the heaps of badly discarded refuse even as they try to avoid the rats, cockroaches and other vermin that breed unhindered in the environmental filth. Observers are of the view that this unhygienic behaviour is a potential health hazard that could very soon signal outbreak of communicable disease epidemic in the immediate area. 

The Jakande Estate, in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of the State, that came to limelight during the administration of the first civilian Governor of Lagos State, Lateef Jakande, comprises blocks of flats put up as low-cost housing units for the low and middle class citizens of the State. 

Findings by Good Health Weekly show that since 1982 when the blocks of flats were constructed, some have only undergone cosmetic repairs and renovations by owners while most of the units have become almost decrepit due to neglect. It was gathered that when the main sewage system collapsed many years ago, the practice of channeling raw sewage from septic tanks into gutters and open drains became commonplace. 

Open soakaway and garbage heap in Jakande Estate, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, Lagos Today, it is the rule rather than the exception even as residents appear oblivious of the attendant health hazards. Investigations around Adeola Johnson Street down to Durbar bus stop reveals that sewage pipes from septic tanks were seen empty directly into the gutters and open drains on the street.

Investigations by Good Health Weekly around the highly populated Estate, revealed that several broken water pipes in the gutters, serve as source of water for a number of the residents, including food vendors. Despite warning signs forbidding the dumping of refuse at various junctions, the indiscriminate dumping has continued, a situation not helped by the absence of waste disposal of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, bins anywhere within the estate. 

In a chat with one of the residents, Mr. Henry Emmanuel who claimed to be among the first set of owners that settled in the Estate after it was built 35 years ago, the lack of maintenance is responsible for the blockaded drainage and destruction of the two sewage treatment plants constructed when the Estate was first built. “Ideally in this Estate, we did not suppose to nurse any fear of flood but because of poor maintenance the main drainage is blocked. 

Also when this Estate was commissioned in April 1982, every block of flats had a manhole linked to the two Central Sewage Systems, CSS, one beside NEPA office and the second at Dubar Bus Stop, but they have both been destroyed.” Further, Emmanuel recounted how few years back, there was arrangement with by estate occupant partner with Private Waste Management for waste disposal, but due to poor collection of revenue the arrangement collapsed. 

“When we suggested that defaulters should be taken to court for breach of contract, there was no consensus. So the situation remains as it is.” In the view of Kunle Idowu, a recharge card seller along Adeola Johnson Street, there is no respect for sanitation rules by residents and those conducting business in the Estate. 

“The word sanitation is not in the dictionary here, even before the Lagos State Government cancelled the monthly environmental sanitation exercise, it was never carried out with sincerity here. “When you have six landlords in one block with everyone feeling superior and doing what they like, such is what you expect to get. 

“There are six flats in a block there are some blocks that you would have to cover your nose because the whole place is stinking. Usually, you just wake up in the morning and discover someone has dumped refuse infront of your house during the night.” 

According to another resident: “The rainy season presents considerable challenge to residents of this Estate. During the rains, some roads are usually flooded because the gutters would have been blocked by waste materials.” When Good Health Weekly approached the staff of Lagos Building Investment Company Plc., it was gathered that its main function was to ensure that residents paid for insurance and some other liabilities. 

However, the issue of environmental sanitation was not covered. It is business as usual,” he noted. Experts have routinely warned about the hazards of improperly disposed sewage. An environmental expert described the disposal of human wastes and other waterborne waste products from houses, streets, and factories as “potentially hazardous” if not properly treated before disposal. “Conveyed through sewers to sewage works, sewage has to undergo series of treatments to be acceptable for discharge into rivers or the sea, and according to various local laws. Raw sewage, or sewage that has not been treated adequately, is a serious source of water pollution and other health hazards such as cholera,” he warned. 

While it is the responsibility of the local government authority to dispose of sewage for residential areas, it is expected that those who generate the waste would ensure responsible and safe handling. The bottom line is that disposing untreated sewage into open gutters in a densely populated region should be discouraged in all ramifications because it has high potential to cause cholera, and other severe diarrhea disorders.