Calabar is now mammy market, says #ThisIsNotCalabar campaigner

The tourism carnival city of Calabar, Cross River state, may go to the dogs if serious efforts are not put in place to restore the beauty of the city and its environs. Frank Meke spoke with #ThisIsNotCalabar clean-up campaigner, Nya John Offiong

There have been an outbreak of environmental challenges bordering on solid waste in the once beautiful city of Calabar. Why is this and what is situation of things ?

First of all, this crisis predates this government as it reared its head towards the end of the previous government much to the chagrin of residents of the city but then, a melange of several reasons is responsible for the current mess. Prior to now, there were laws and policies that prevented certain environmentally unfriendly practices within the city but after a while it looked like relevant authorities seem to have dithered on these standards and have been unwilling to maintain the towering reputation that had been set, consequently, environmental abuse became a free for all as the city has been badly defaced. So we now find bills posted indiscriminate and broken down vehicles left to decorate the streets for weeks and months. It is also common to find people swarming around traffic lights hawking all manner of things, others have now invaded sidewalks, street corners, green areas, parks and any other available space to sell different things from fruits, food, herbal medicines, barbecued food, phone accessories, clothes, drinks etc. The entire city has now been transformed to a Mammy Market of sorts and this has more than tripled waste generation in the city.

Again, the streets are also no longer swept religiously as before and so now it is not new to find the kerbs and roads smeared with municipal litters and earth. To make matters worse, all these waste and litters are left for weeks to form pyramids on street corners before they are collected. Clearly, both the government and us the residents are responsible for this but to cut the government some slack, I will admit that the funds to deal with all of these have been limited and has made it a bit impossible for government to either provide the adequate facilities to handle this outbreak or sometimes pay CUDA (Calabar Urban Development Urban Agency) staffs. Without a doubt, the challenges the government faces in this regard is quite humungous.

What policy direction should the government undertake to arrest the situation?

First, we want the government to begin a proper campaign that will summarise their plans for environment in the city. Through this channel, residents can be educated and sensitised on the dos and don’ts of the environment through outdoor campaigns on signage, jingles in the media and through social media campaigns as well etc. This interaction between the government and the people is vital if things must work. We once had the #CleanAndGreen campaign under former Governor Donald Duke and needless to say it worked and enjoyed the buy in of the people. Beyond just taking off trash from the receptacles there is need for a holistic plan on returning Calabar to the city we once knew. The government can use its own campaign to sensitise our people against the dangers of littering, desecration of our green areas etc. it can also put an end to illicit street trading and other unhealthy practices through this campaign.

In addition the government can adopt a ward based system of city planning and monitoring (using the 22 wards in the entire Calabar) so that somebody somewhere in CUDA is responsible for a ward or two in the city and can be held responsible by the agency for what goes wrong within his/her ward. Government can also introduce Road Sweepers to complement the manual sweeping of our roads. This strategy will definitely reduce municipal waste by up to 80%.

Government  can also begin to think of setting up a waste recycling/transformation plant as this will drastically reduce waste in the city and spin revenue for the state as well. The “Clean Neighbourhood Challenge” is another strategy that could work. So young people in different neighbourhoods, can own their environment by joining in the cleaning exercise and the cleanest neighbourhoods win attractive rewards. Governor Tambuwal of Sokoto has already done something like this so it isn’t anything strange.

One more thing is for the government to bring back our litter bins to reduce municipal waste. The absence of these bins which were once a conspicuous feature on the Calabar city landscape has contributed to the huge amount of litters strewn across our roads today. Finally government must back these policies up with sound legislations or the implementation of same in other to ensure strict compliance to the policies and thereby fast track development in this area. Somehow there just has to be some kind of punishment for offenders to effectively combat  the current lawlessness and impunity regarding the environment.

All these must pose serious health challenges to the people, I guess?

Oh! The health hazards of this cannot be overemphasised. These dump sites breed harmful rodents and have also polluted the air especially around surrounding neighbourhoods. A number of residents have even been reported to be ill as a result of this while some others living around the affected areas have had to relocate to other parts of town. In all, this menace portends several health dangers for our people if the situation is not arrested urgently.

Which areas are common with refuse?

To be honest, just about everywhere is affected however, Calabar South is worse hit. Places like Bedwell, Egerton, White House by Punch, Watt Market etc. Are all badly affected and in some cases heaps of refuse pour into the road sometimes blocking the entire road and preventing vehicular and human traffic. In Calabar Municipality we have Akai Street, Nsemo, Ediba, Ikot Ishie Market and then the MCC by Mobil junction that has now been overtaken by a bee of determined street traders and Taxi operators. That spot, once a spectacle of greenery has slowly and steadily turned into a motor Park complete with hawkers and marauding traders.

So what do you intend to achieve with your campaign?

It is important to mention that this is neither a politically motivated campaign nor is it directed against the government or the governor. It is rather an awareness campaign championed by residents of the city who have only acted out of love for their beloved city and the intention is to encourage the government to do more, to attract the attention of all stakeholders involved and to explore the possibility of forging collaborations between government, citizens and all other relevant stakeholders involved in this crisis. On this year’s World Environment day, 5th June, we launched the #ThisIsNOTCalabar campaign as a way of rallying young people to voice out their frustrations to their leaders. Thankfully this is yielding results as the government has been responding. We must also not fail to mention the efforts of Hit FM, The Calabar Boys and Babes Club, EIS Recyclers, La Shakara, Bertha Edu (The governor’s aide on public health) etc. These guys have been mobilising citizens on street clean ups and sensitisation. They have our respect as they are doing a pretty good job.

So even though this campaign was initiated by us, I can now confidently say that this has become the campaign of the people as it no doubt resonates with their prevalent thoughts at this moment. The hashtag has now become a catchphrase for young people especially on social media. The campaign has sort of given them a voice and a face. That’s a huge achievement.

Apart from waste issues,  the state seems to be grappling with deep security issues. What’s going on?

True, this is the reality on ground and I am deeply worried about our darling tourism industry which has been badly affected by this trend. We are just recovering from a terrible cult war that claimed no less than 15 lives and a spate of robbery attacks that cast panic and uncertainty over the state. Thankfully, the state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade rose to the occasion by setting up a crime buster team and by rejigging his security portfolio and now peace is gradually being restored to the city.

Truth is that the #ThisIsNOTCalabar campaign has metamorphosed from addressing environmental issues into other challenges the city is facing right now because truly, this isn’t the Calabar we once knew and very soon we want to be able to look at our city and say, like the first set of words you will find cast in stone as you enter the city,  “#THISISCALABAR!”

It is not all gloom and doom, I have to admit as the state is slowly getting its groove back. The Paradise Music Awards is around the corner. That one is an event that we can’t wait to happen. TEDx Calabar is billed to hold in a few months. That’s a super international event of the highest repute. Look, things are happening. Life is back again and tourists are always welcome to Nigeria’s undisputed leisure haven. Hey, we’re talking about Calabar here and you know what they say about us…NOTHING KILLS US because somehow we happen to know just how to live life more than every other people.