The Lagos State government, through its various environmental agencies, such as Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), is battling to keep the state clean amid protests and strike.

The massive protests that greeted the recently introduced oil subsidy removal which brought about an unprecedented increase in the pump price of petrol, and which led to restriction of both vehicular and human movement, have led to an increase in the amount of waste dumped and left on major roads by residents.

Many Lagos residents have over the years cultivated the unwhole-some habit of dumping their refuse along major roads usually in unco-ordinated manners, with the hope that such refuse will be picked up by refuse trucks.

At times, due to one factor or the other, such trucks might fail to show up in days, this often leading to a situation whereby refuse will be found littering the environ-ment thereby creating a sight many would find repulsive to behold.

Therefore, it is need-less to say that due to the restriction in the move-ment of all vehicles throughout last week, there was a significant increase in the amount of refuse generated and dumped on major roads in the state.

However, road cleaners, under the auspices of LAWMA, rose to the challenge of ensuring that refuse did not take over the state, as many of them, in defilement of the order of labour unions for all labour activities to cease, went about sweeping and pack-ing refuse off roads.

This category of people, in spite of the fact that they were few in numbers, could be seen, in the evening, battling to clean up moun-tains of refuse residents might have piled up during the day.

Findings made by Pro-perty and Environ-ment show that due to the danger embed-ded in doing their cleaning activities during the normal working hours, the cleaners would come out by 5pm when the whole protest exercise as well as other activities associated with it would have whittled down considerably.

One of such workers, a woman, who preferred to remain anonymous, when accosted by Property and Environment, disclosed that they were told not to fully participate in the strike, because of the deleterious effects such might have on the environment.

“We come out by 5pm everyday to clean up the environment, because if this is not done, then by the time the whole strike exercise and protest end, refuse and filth would have taken over streets, roads and drainages.

“Even on normal days when all activities are carried out under normal condition, we always still encounter the problem of cleaning the environment, because an average Nigerian seems to derive pleasure in dumping refuse indiscriminately,” the woman stated.  

This feat has ensured that many of the major roads in Lagos State remain relatively clean and tidy, notwithstanding the unpleasant situation the state as well as the entire nation is currently enmeshed in.