Environment and development in coastal regions and in small islands

UNESCO leads stakeholders in Ikoyi drainage channel clean-up partnership

By Happiness Otokhine

As part of efforts to clear drainage channels in the state, the Lagos State government in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), The Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and Clean Up Nigeria (an NGO) has initiated a community participation exercise to checkmate dumping of refuse in canals and rid the state of its perennial flooding problems.

Under the initiative, the community has accepted to take responsibility for keeping the drainage channel in Ikoyi, on Awolowo Road, free of refuse by discouraging unauthorized dumping among its members as well as watching out for offenders. This follows an initial clearing and desilting of the channel currently on-going by the Ministry of Environment as part of its own contribution.

To flag-off the programme the four parties last Thursday signed the charter of agreement in a simple ceremony witnessed by their representatives as well as members of the media.

The project which to date has gulped about N7 million UNESCO funds, according to Mr. Anthony Maduekwe, the UNESCO representative in Nigeria, was kicked off in the year 2000.

In the first phase, the Nigerian Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR) was commissioned to conduct a research study of all the primary drains in the state at the cost of N15 million. The result of their findings provides the basis for the present partnership project.

The study, conducted on 13 canals across the state, revealed that two main factors were responsible for the problems of drainage blockage and flooding in the State. Namely engineering problems whereby some of the canals have reverse flows, while the other is attitudinal, evident in the dumping of refuse in canals and other drain channels by Lagosians.

Mr Maduekwe stated that UNESCO is supporting the project because it realised that cleaning up the state is one sure way of making it a tourist attraction.

The next step of the project would be a massive awareness campaign for which Clean Up Nigeria has printed about 50,000 stickers to sensitise people on the need to keep the canals free of filth.

The Ikoyi canal, according to Maduekwe, will be used as a model to show everyone in the state that it is possible to maintain refuse free drainage. Other locations would be reached one after the other until the entire state is covered, he stated.

Responding, the Commissioner for Environment who was represented by Mr Rasheed Gbajabiamila, an engineer said that private sector / community participation is a commendable effort world over with the ability to foster high sense of responsibility and cooperation for the common good of the environment.

Source: The Guardian, Monday, September 1, 2003