Some residents of Lagos on Saturday called for sustained enforcement of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise to ensure a cleaner and healthier environment across the state.
Residents in parts of Surulere participated in the exercise by sweeping roads, clearing blocked drains and disposing of waste at approved collection points.
Commercial activities were low during the exercise as movement restrictions imposed by the Lagos State Government were enforced between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
Areas monitored included Masha, Kilo, Ogunlana and Lawanson, where sanitation officials and security personnel supervised compliance.
Traders and residents were seen cleaning gutters in front of their shops and homes, while officials of the Lagos Waste Management Authority evacuated refuse from some locations.
Mr. Isiaka Balogun, a resident of Masha, said the sanitation exercise would help reduce flooding during the rainy season.
“When gutters are blocked with refuse, floodwater cannot flow freely.
“If this exercise continues regularly and people stop dumping waste in drainage channels, flooding will reduce in many parts of Surulere,” he said.
Mrs. Helen Ajibola, a resident of Kilo, said the exercise had encouraged many people to pay greater attention to environmental cleanliness.
“People are becoming more conscious of keeping their surroundings clean again.
“In the past, many residents ignored sanitation because the exercise was suspended for years, but now people are beginning to adjust,” she said.
Also speaking, Mr. Ridwan Sulaimon, a trader at Lawanson Market, urged the government to provide more waste bins in busy areas to support proper waste disposal.
He said many residents would comply with sanitation guidelines if waste disposal facilities were more accessible.
Officials of the Kick Against Indiscipline were observed monitoring major roads to ensure compliance with the restriction order.
Meanwhile, sweepers took the lead in sanitation activities in Ogba and Agege-Pencinema, where commercial activities were largely suspended in compliance with the directive.
While some residents were seen sweeping their compounds and cleaning their surroundings, many others remained indoors throughout the exercise.
In several locations visited, road sweeping was largely carried out by sanitation workers, with limited participation from residents.
Despite the restriction, a few food vendors operated within the Pencinema Railway Market and nearby mini parks, attending to passengers waiting for the restriction period to end.
At several parks in Agege, commuters were seen waiting for vehicles to resume operations as commercial transport services remained limited.
The usually busy Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway around Agege recorded lighter traffic during the exercise, although a few tricycles and commercial buses were observed conveying passengers.
Some youths also took advantage of the reduced vehicular movement to engage in recreational activities beneath the Pencinema Bridge.
Overall, compliance with the movement restrictions was high, although participation in sanitation activities remained low in some communities where cleanup efforts were largely carried out by sanitation workers.
The Lagos State Government recently reintroduced the monthly environmental sanitation exercise to improve hygiene and restore environmental discipline across the state.
