By Akintola Benson
The commercial and economic status of Lagos makes it home to about 2,000 industrial complexes, 10,000 commercial ventures and 22 industrial estates. It accounts for over 60% of Nigeria’s industrial and commercial activities; 70% of national maritime cargo freight, over 80% of international aviation traffic and over 50% of Nigeria’s energy consumption. Recent statistics reveal that 25,000 people visit Lagos for one reason or the other on a daily basis.
Though this constant migration offers Lagos huge benefits, it also has its negative effects, especially in terms of environmental condition. Besides noise pollution which is a common trend in the metropolis, air pollution, which is an equally dangerous menace, has become an integral part of living in Lagos. With most industries in the state sidetracking the required standard in terms of the management of industrial smoke, water and waste, Lagosians daily live with the risk of inhaling polluted air that constitutes serious health hazard to all and sundry. Contamination from the fumes of domestic and industrial generating sets, industrial machines and the likes is a daily reality that we all live with in Lagos. Many residents’ health situations have completely deteriorated as a result of the poisonous effects of industrial pollution. Indeed, many have died as a result of hazards of air pollution.
Research has shown that people who reside in noisy and polluted places are more susceptible to contracting terrible diseases and as such easily, vulnerable to avoidable deaths. At the 2007 World Health Organization Conference on environmental pollution, it was agreed that noise causes severe mental health problems, sleep deprivation, hearing impairment, high blood pressure and many other diseases. The most immediate effect of noise pollution is, however, a deterioration of mental health. People who live too close to airports, for instance, will probably be quite nervous. Continuous noise can create panic episodes in a person and can even raise frustration levels.
Achieving and maintaining a cleaner Lagos is one of the priorities of the present administration in Lagos State. Lagos once had a reputation for being a very dirty and disorganized city. However, since 1999, tailored and sustained efforts have ensured that Lagos now has a better reputation. However, it is not really utopian yet, as there is still much work to be done in the onerous task of attaining a cleaner Lagos.
According to Gbolahan Akintunde, a policy affairs commentator, one striking feature of a capital city in any developed country is its cleanliness. “There are no heaps of refuse. No abandoned broken down vehicles. No bloated dead bodies on the road. No suicidal beggars competing with moving vehicles and threatening to harm motorists who fail to give out alms”.
Famous world cities like London, Washington, Oslo, Dublin, Paris etc. are splendid because of the beauty of their sparkling clean environment. The secret of the beauty of these cities’ impressive environmental landscape is partly in their respective government’s painstaking attention to environmental and sanitary matters.
As it has been earlier affirmed, though the Lagos State Government is working assiduously to improve the aesthetics of the environment, much still need to be done to actually preserve the environmental landscape of the City-State. The beautiful thing, however, is that the State Government is determined to turn things around for good in terms of environmental regeneration. In doing this, the place of a suitable and workable communication policy cannot be over-emphasized. It is common knowledge that it is one thing to have a plan or policy in place but it is totally a different matter altogether to have a strategy for communicating the import, nature, benefits, changes and opportunities inherent in the policy.
The importance of communication in public administration cannot be over-emphasised. According to a publication of the University of Southern California, United States of America, public administrators can be considered as the link between the public and policy makers. Therefore, to operate effectively, public administrators should consider the public’s desires and concerns. Good communication skills can help public administrators engage with members of the public in debates and discussions, and the issues raised during these exchanges can then be discussed with policymakers. While the policymakers may not always act exactly as the public would like, the public can feel satisfied that policy decisions occur when information flows freely.
Indeed, while no one can possibly be in doubt as to the need for a clean environment, it helps to briefly discuss the most important of the benefits. The first and primary reason is for the better health of the residents and tourists. Hygienic environment helps us to stay fit and augurs for a longer, healthier life. The fact we all know is that mosquitoes, insects and flies carry a lot of germs and bacteria in them. They are the main transmitters of diseases like chicken pox, malaria and jaundice. We do know that these mosquitoes and pests are frequently attracted to heaps of garbage and wastes.
Also, a cleaner city is always a sure bet that it would attract more and more tourists from around the world. Historical buildings, iconic sites along with cleanliness constitute the perfect combination to attract tourists and make for people to enjoy their holidays in the city. But ,garbage lying here and there would be a turn off for tourists as it would disappoint them.
Avoidance of degradation is another benefit of a clean city. Plastic wastes and other such wastes are the factors that degrade the quality of our environment. Another benefit of keeping our cities clean is that it helps in maintaining a respectable ranking when cities are ranked. The ranking of cities is helpful in terms of employment and development opportunities. Multinational companies are attracted to set up their offices in the cities with good rankings.
Cleanliness is absolutely important because the effect of environmental degradation could be devastating. It is based on this that the State Government is keen on devising the best communication strategies that would easily bring Lagos residents on board its environmental renewal agenda. Part of the strategy being deployed is the training of key public officials on effective communication skills on environmental issues. The goal is to build a crop of public officials who could efficiently engage the public in public campaigns aimed at curbing environmental nuisance. The overall intent is to achieve a cleaner and safer Lagos which would be the pride of all.
Dr. Benson is Honourable Commissioner for Establishments, Training & Pensions, Lagos State.