By Kemi Ariyibi
Oyo state has always been a model state, little wonder why it is known as the pacesetter state. For this reason however, some other issues that will be simply handled in other states require a bit for finesse, in order to make them effective in Oyo state.
One of these issues is waste collection.
Reading through the 20th September edition of the Nigerian Tribune, I came across an article written by Iyabo Aina, it highlights the issue of waste collection as currently being experienced in the state, especially in Ibadan, and urges the government to immediately address the menace, as a clean, healthy environment is one of the benefits of citizenship.
The state government hasn’t abandoned this very important duty. In fact, the steps taken to ensure that there is an effective waste collection strategy in place in Oyo state was what necessitated the disbandment of the model of waste collection erstwhile adopted by the government, and contraction of the West Africa ENRG Ltd, a foremost player in the waste collection and recycling business, as the body solely in charge of the Oyo State Waste Management Agency.
The mandate was simple: Develop a functional strategy that will make waste collection in Oyo state more effective, and thus create a clean, healthier environment for the citizens.
Upon assumption of this task, we immediately swung into action. We held discussions with all the key stakeholders at different levels, in order to figure out what exactly the challenges facing waste collection in Oyo state are; issues we discovered ranged from the lack of seriousness on the part of the waste collectors to ensure that domestic waste is collected from the Oyo state metropolis as and when due, to inadequate, haphazard funding for these collectors, which they claimed made their work difficult as the funds coming in just weren’t enough to ensure everything ran smoothly,
Backed by this information, we knew what needed to be done, so we invited private contractors in the waste collection business, both old and new, and, with the other stakeholders, set out to develop workable strategies to ensure that we all work together to create a cleaner, safer environment.
We immediately began the process of engaging private contractors, and intervening to create a framework that will be both beneficial to these contractors, as well as residents of Oyo state; we came up with a middle-ground, and started out on a massive sensitization campaign on all the different mass media channels in Oyo state.
The process is still ongoing, as we have to get creative to still deal with certain challenges coming up in the process of implementation, and between July and August, we have moved over 32,000MT of waste from Oyo state, and, with the addition of even more partners, we are poised to do even more in the coming months. This also shows an increase in the capacity of the contractors, and a better understanding of the strategies required to efficiently monitor and administer their operations.
We have engaged contractors covering all areas in Oyo state and removing domestic waste from homes, offices, medians, markets, etc., and we can be reached on 09099581501 and 09032136608, or via email – oyowma@westafricaenrg.com, on Facebook (www.facebook.com/WestAfricaENRG) and @WestAfricaENRG across all the other social media channels.
We have trained agents working all these platforms at all times, and they have been instructed to listen to complaints, ideas, suggestions, opinions, etc., answer whatever questions you might have regarding OYOWMA and waste collection in your area, and are also equipped to immediately contact the contractor assigned to your area, to immediately get your domestic waste picked up.
However, without the cooperation of citizens and stakeholders alike, even the greatest, most carefully thought-out strategy will fail. We are currently engaging Landlords’ and Residents’ Associations in all the various areas and streets in Oyo state; we are hoping that this enables us create partnerships that makes it easier to carry out the process of waste and revenue collections on a holistic, more widespread and effective basis.
The job of ensuring that Oyo state is clean involves everybody; we all need to come together and play our parts, and OYOWMA is now even more ready and equipped to work with everyone to deliver on this mandate.
Kemi Ariyibi is of West Africa ENRG Ltd.
