16th October 2025
We read with interest your editorial on Lagos New Waste Management Initiative. We commend the points made.
My organisation organised National Waste Management Workshops in 1995 and 1996 that led Lagos State Government to start the Private Sector Participation Scheme in 1997, with a pilot programme in old Kosofe and Shomolu Local Government Areas- the first in Nigeria.
The editorial raises serious issues of serious business demanding serious attention from the Lagos State Government. Moving forward, the government needs to find out what was done right in the past 28 years and how it could be improved. What was done wrong and how could it be corrected? That is where we are now.
The government needs to find out where we need to be to achieve a clean Lagos on a successful and sustainable basis.
Achieving a clean Lagos State on a successful and sustainable basis must be an integral part of ending hunger, malnutrition, and poverty in Lagos State.
To end hunger, malnutrition and poverty in Lagos State, the government needs to answer the three basic questions in ways that achieve integrated sustainable solutions within Food for All by 2035; Health for All by 2035; Education for All by 2035; Employment for All by 2035; Housing for All by 2035; Security for All by 2035; and Finance for Physical Planning and Sustainable Development to achieve the earlier ones. It is a matter of failing in one, failing in all.
The Lagos State Government needs to appreciate that waste and beyond-waste issues should be effectively addressed as one for sustainable success. Moving forward, there is a need for a fresh pilot programme with the following aims and objectives:
Address the increasing convergence between the new 20 LGs and 38 LCDAs vision, the new Lagos State vision, the new Nigeria vision and the new global vision intention and reality.
Address correct diagnosis, prescription, surgery and recovery management issues as one.
Address the agenda framework, implementation framework, and evaluation framework issues as one.
Address willingness to try new ideas, new thinking and new ways of doing things; willingness to try new partnerships, new collaboration and new cooperation; readiness to accept past failures and readiness to build a bridge between lessons learning and lessons forgotten issues as one.
Address communication for behavioural impact and changing attitude and behaviour at scale issues as one.
Address the cooperatives movement and development finance issues as one.
Address technical and political process issues as one.
0 Comments