Environmentalists have called on the three tiers of government to enforce sanitation laws in order to protect the environment from pollution.
The President, Board of Trustees of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, Chief Philip Asiodu, stated that the enforcement of sanitation laws, especially in Lagos State, would serve as deterrent to environmental abuse.
He said there was a need for continuity and sustainability as well as enforcement of sanitation laws to save the environment.
According to him, sanitary inspectors in the past enforced sanitation laws which put people in check and curbed pollution because of the adherence to the rules of hygiene.
“In colonial days, we had them as sanitary inspectors called ‘Wolewole’ and they can enter your house anytime. In recent times, pollution has become a major menace in most cities of the world, and Lagos has more than 18 million people, making it more populous than other cities in Africa,” he said.
He said there should be a change in lifestyle such as consumption pattern that favours recycling and promotion of the refusal of plastics, their reuse and up-cycling to save the environment.
He said, “We must continue to sensitise the public on the need to discourage single use of plastic. It is not bad if we return to the days where you are not allowed to eat and drink in public, so that we can reduce plastic waste.
“Millions of non-biodegradable materials are being disposed wrongly and going into the ocean; that is a self-destructive looming disaster against the whole of humanity.”
Asiodu spoke at the 2018 ‘Walk for Nature’, an annual event organised by the NCF and the Lagos State Government to raise awareness on issues that concern the environment.
He said the foundation had started recycling programmes in 17 communities in Eti-Osa Local Government Area, where residents earned money for their participation, and advised the state government to attach incentives to waste recycling to encourage participation.
The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, who was represented by the Commissioner for the Environment, Mr Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, said there was a need to shift consumption pattern to environment-friendly methods. Punch
