LACKADAISICAL ATTITUDE;
NIGERIA’S SELF MADE HURRICANE
By Bolaji Olaniba
While I think we are one of the
luckiest and well placed races on world geography and climate, I believe we are
not doing anything close to “much” or even ‘little” in safeguarding the
integrity of our own environment in most cities across “Africa” in general and
in Nigeria to be specific. Most of us are knowledgeable of the latest natural
disaster; “hurricane Harvey” which struck the inhabitants of south eastern Texas
in the United States of America. This cyclone ravaging storm travels at great speed
(10 miles per hour or even more) carrying great wind and also causing
disastrous flooding too, as it frequently takes off from the core of the
Atlantic Ocean. While the hurricane is often an annual geographical awaiting
disaster (occurring in parts of the North American continent) that surprisingly
went on a break for about 13 years before reawakening on August 17 this year
(2017), however, flooding in Nigeria which is often without violent storms has
usually been a consequence of the lackadaisical attitudes of both the government
and the citizenry. In one of my earlier online articles I expounded on our
romance with the “care free culture.” unfortunately this culture has birthed an
offspring for us in lackadaisical attitude. Three major flood disasters has so
far affected us in the year (2017) alone, one in the commercial city of Lagos,
another in Suleja town in Niger state and the recent flooding that has swept
across 24 communities in Benue state. Nature quite unfortunately can be most
times unpredictable, but that’s also largely dependent on our attitude towards
it, especially in the African continent and Nigeria to be specific. My visit to
Suleja town in December 2016 really proved much point to me on how much the
inhabitants of that place loved their environment by openly defecating and
dumping of refuse, in combination with filling drainage channels with nylon
packs and cabbages. It’s therefore not a lie that the most states in Nigeria do
not even have close to sophisticated waste management plans or system for
collecting and appropriately disposing refuse and for recycling. Many streets
and communities across Nigeria’s 36 states do not have waste disposing tanks or
bins neither have they witnessed the operation of waste collection agencies. While Lagos with its LAWMA agency has over the
years been toning its muscles in the area of waste management, however, the
recent flooding in areas on the Lagos Island shows we still have a long way to
go in adequately caring for Mother Nature so that she can in turn care for us.
In sociological analysis of
environmental disasters, the culture and attitudes of the inhabitants of such
environment are analyzed. Natural disasters although, are often unfortunate
events, as their root cause and exact timing are difficult to capture. But in
Nigeria, our collective handling and habits which takes our environment as a
docile entity rather than an interacting being, has over the years brought us
untold hardships and damages. Such Cases where funds meant for construction of
drainage system and channels are diverted into private coffers by government officials
and cases where the citizenry sees no other place to dump refuse than throwing
them into streams, rivers, gutters and so on and so forth, while everybody goes
there way, in Nigeria life goes on that way. But at our U – turns after the
initial execution of these despicable habits, Mother Nature shakes her head “I
am coming for you guys” that’s her proclamation. You damage the dignity of the
natural environment; it damages your hard earned fortunes In turn. The ever
polluted streams and rivers of Niger delta oil rich communities also lie in
wait there; the people’s means of livelihood in fishing and farming have been
consistently dealt a blow and rendered irrelevant for the operations of oil
producing multinationals firms raking millions of dollars into our government’s
coffers and making the government blind to the plight of the people
It is quite unfortunate that in
advanced nations where visions, plans and steps are taking to adequately avert
damaging environmental behavior such as dropping of plastic bags in water ways,
emission of green house gases etc. Natural
disasters in tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes have been the pay back over the
years. While in developing nations like Nigeria where close to nothing is done
to care for Mother Nature, self inflicted disasters have been the order of the
day. Irrespective of what Natural disaster rocks the USA, China and other advanced
Nations, their collective response and attitude of care towards their environment
(which is visible in their beautiful and clean landscape) and their response to
unfortunate natural disasters will continue to help them have upper hand in the
transactions of societal and environmental interaction. The responsibility of
caring and maintaining environmental decency is in our hands as Nigerians, it
however needs a top – down approach to creating a sense and an attitude of
environmental care and sanity, as political authority is needed for compliance
in this journey, Nigeria needs to avert an avalanche of self made disasters
often termed “Natural”, or else Mother Nature will pay us back in our Kobo.
Bolaji Olaniba
Lives and work in Lokoja
Kogi state
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