From Being One Of The Cleaniest To Becoming One of the Dirtiest, Residents Lament State of Owerri
In recent years before the last two years, several publications have praised Owerri, Imo state for its outstanding beauty and cleanliness.
Some even went as far as comparing the nature of Owerri to that of a developed state in a developing Country.
In this report, EXCEL BREAKING NEWS takes a look at how the state especially its capital (Owerri) has transformed from being one of the cleanest to becoming one of the dirtiest in Nigeria.
In a bid to unravel the mystery behind the drainage challenge facing the state capital where people are exposed to hazards of environmental degradation , our reporter paid a visit to popular Douglas area of the Owerri metropolis in the state and Mbaise area of Owerri.
On getting to Douglas , while Many persons displayed their wares for sale, the odour that welcomed our reporter was repressive as water from different gutters overflew into some part of the roads while dirts were not hard to locate .
With traders in different wares accomodating the place, they shared their experiences on a daily basis due to lack of drainage system and poor waste management policies.
One of the residents in the area who identified himself as Julius said the environment gives him and other residents concern but the government is doing nothing to abate their worrie
“Everytime I wake up to see the water flowing and dirt In this area , I feel bad. The stink I am even scared may cause epidemic and this is how people eat and sleep everyday with no hope of change, the drainage system is very poor and even the waste management is poor so people have no other option than to dump refuse just anywhere on the street and even the gutters meant for water passage have been blocked” he noted.
Another resident in Douglas who pleaded anonymity called on the government to act towards returning Owerri to its days of beauty and cleanliness
“The situation as you can see is very bad and we only hope the government can ease our worries” the resident noted.
Our reporter visited Mbaise area of the state and same situations repeated itself.
Young kids were seen eating near the flowing water without restraint while others went about their businesses in obvious show of being used to the situation.
WHY DIRT IN THE ENVIRONMENT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED
According to experts Sickness including, cancer, typhoid, cholera and malaria are caused by dirty environment.
An environmental health expert, Honorable Shabi Adebola had once during an event in Lagos advocated for a cleaner environment round Nigeria
“You see little children of four or 10 years having cancer today and many Nigerians believe it is spiritual attack, it is not. It is your own negligence and my own negligence to the environment. We need to protect the environment to avoid all these things and for us to be in good health.” the environmental health expert had once said.
Some of the instances of environmental ddegradation involves calcutta after the rains, ankle-deep in filthy water, awash with sewage. People emerge dripping from the bits of bric-a-brac that pass for housing in the shanty towns, children squatting in the gutter.
Attempt to reach Chinyere Uwandu Commissioner for Environment & Natural resources in Imo State proved abortive as at the time of this report.
