The Chairman of the Ondo State Waste Management Board, Mrs. Yinka Alabi has given the assurance that the newly appointed board will ensure Ondo becomes the cleanest state in Nigeria, a position it has once attained.
Mrs Alabi who stated this in an interview with Roving Reporters in Akure the state capital said that was the mandate given to the members of the board by governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
She however restated the need for residents of the State to assist the government in managing waste as this would also prevent flood, outbreak of diseases.
Alabi said, “You know when human generates waste and you don’t manage it, you know what it means. So he doesn’t want diseases to break out in Ondo State. He (Aiyedatiwa )wants a very clean Ondo State.
“In fact, he wants it to be the cleanest in Nigeria, probably the world. So the mandate is for us to come here, to work as a team, and also design ways, strategies to make waste management in Ondo State what the people can be proud of. So that’s the mandate given to us.
“You will agree with me, if you go to the town now, you will see that it’s far better from what we used to have. So now it’s showing that we’ve started work. But I can tell you when you’re talking of waste management, it’s not something you start and say you’re finishing.
“So it’s an ongoing process. It’s not something you’re going to start and finish. So what we want to do is also continue to keep Ondo State clean.
“So we’ve started work. It’s already showing. But we know that when it comes to waste management, you can’t really have enough.
“But we can work to the point where people will say no. We can see that Ondo State is very clean. And that is what we are set out to do.
“We have started, and we will continue to do that. My advice is that our people should cultivate the habit of managing their waste, keeping it together. And they should desist from indiscriminate dumping of refuse on the road. Even anywhere like that. Not just dumping it indiscriminately.
“Waste management is a business of all. It’s not just a business of one person. So we have to come together as a people to manage waste in Ondo State.
It’s not something we can do alone as an office. It’s something we have to do together with the citizenry. So for us, it’s not just something we are doing alone. It’s something we must also do with them. So we are asking for their support. We are asking that they should join hands with us to make Ondo State clean.
“We are also wary of the fact that if diseases should break out, you know what that means. And we don’t want that to happen. We don’t want it to happen.
And when they also drop their waste inside the canals, you know the end result. Flooding will come and when flooding comes, you can only know the beginning. You don’t know the end. It can even cost human lives.
“So because of that, we want us to be careful the way we deal with waste. So it’s a business of everybody. And we want all of them to be involved.”
On Enforcement, Mrs Alabi said, I have always said it, Outside enforcing, with good conscience, the people can stop dumping refuse. You don’t need anybody to be after you.
Because what we are doing here also concerns you. And when the end result comes, it will also affect you. So something that you know will affect you, why would you do it? So we know we have the department that does enforcement.
“But that is not the main thing. We want an ondo state where the citizens will look around and say, yes, I want this place to be clean.
“Where they will look around and say, no, with their conscience, know that they are supposed to do well. They are not supposed to drop their refuse on the median. They are not supposed to drop their refuse on the road.
“So that’s the kind of ondo state we are looking forward to and we have started work. Let all of us know that. It’s a business for all of us. And let’s join hands together to make ondo state a better place.”
