The House to House removal of waste launched by the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency, ASEPA, is a step in the right direction.
As my friends know, I don’t believe in playing sentimental politics, that is why I think the removal from office of former ASEPA chairman, Mr Victor Apugo, by the Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, was timely and compellingly necessary.
This is because it is unfathomable that someone who has been giving an opportunity to work and an avenue to serve the people will derail in such a way that their removal easily gets the nod of an overwhelming majority of the people and is in tandem with public outcry. Such appointees have appointees seem to have perfected the art of deflecting their failures to one excuse or the other no matter how mundane and untenable such excuses are.
A wise man once said to me “your boss wants results, not excuses”.
Many bloggers and journalist have written about the wastes that almost took over the whole of Abia State but for the intervention of the Governor during the media tour.
The funniest part of it is that the people in charge of waste management seem to always remember to take the wastes out of the way only when they see the negative attention it attracts on social media.
Does one have to get negative attention always before you can do your work?
No!
Even if you do not have the necessary equipment needed for such a task, what about doing the ones you can do?
When you pass through Isi Gate which rightly stands as the centre of Umuahia, the capital of Abia State, the stench of the waste sends you spinning almost out of control.
I used the route the other day, and, for the first time in a long while, heaved a sigh of relief because the people were disposing their waste rightly inside the waste container and not on the floor or on the road. That deserves a thumbs up.
However, sometimes I think that we are the cause of our own problem. I was en route to Port Harcourt months ago, as we were leaving the park at Isi Gate, a passenger wanted to throw away waste, she was actually confused whether to throw it out through the window or not; the driver quickly intervened and encouraged her to throw it on the floor as in his words; “this is Abia State.”
Do you see the ignorance that most people live in?
Who says you can’t make a change from where you are even right now?
Who says that your attitude towards things can not change the thought of the other person?
This is why I said that changing the State is our collective responsibility and not just for a certain few.
We all have a part to play, so blaming one another will not give us our desired results but we can all join hands to effect a change.
God bless Abia State.
Nneka Torti writes from Umuahia.
