NEED FOR SEWAGE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL IN BAYELSA STATE

THE NEED FOR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT AND APPROVED DISPOSAL SITE IN BAYELSA STATE:

[An Article written and published in 2006,but still VERY relevant to the Bayelsa State Scenario]

 

Some people are of the view that governments are like horses. They believe these horses won’t run unless they are prodded no matter how people-oriented their programs appear. I am not one of those who believe in an all-knowing government. It is wrong to assume that those who are in government knows everything and as such super-humans. Any society that has the government as all-knowing will suffer because anything those in governments doesn’t know, no other person or group can know.

Thank God that we have a society where others make input to governance and such contributions are taken seriously. Sometimes due to the crowded programs of our leaders they forget some of their good intentions for the people and, when we write; in most cases, it is assumed that it will remind and strengthen their resolve to act even where the idea suffered some setback due to lack of will by the leaders. The sea of ideas is great, but like the rivers, it is always flowing and unless those ideas are downloaded; they will just flow away.

Anybody who has spent a reasonable time in Port Harcourt will attest to the fact that the present administration of his Excellency, Dr. Peter Odili deserves some kudos and support for his dogged fight against the heaps of refuse that used to occupy our streets [in the 90s] and continued to be produced from our homes, markets and business outfits daily. The steps taken by the government to ensure that the days when refuse took over the streets are over are commendable. While more strategies are being formulated to enlighten and rid the streets of refuse by the state government, let me also commend the NDDC for the refuse receptacles provided in the Niger Delta states. These receptacles  have also helped in some ways.

However, the crux of the matter here is far different. It has to do with the disposal of human waste [excreta]. I remember, as one who grew up in Port Harcourt, that, apart from those houses in Government Reserved Areas [GRA]; almost every other house in Port Harcourt and its environs [in the 70s and 80s] either used the pit or pail toilet system. Water-closet toilets were mostly seen in the GRAs and places like Amadi flat [where I first used one, at No.8 Nzimiro street, around 1972/73].

Yes, things have changed. In those days it was a common sight to see young men wearing mask and carrying pails filled with human waste on their heads. They go from backyard to backyard and from one street to the other. Their duty was to empty the waste from each compound in their areas of jurisdiction i.e  from the pail in the toilet of each particular yard into their own bigger pails used for final disposal. In the Port Harcourt old township, these men [popularly referred to as Onyeburu] start as early as 6:00pm each day; going about their business [of evacuating human waste]. Sometimes, as youths, we used to call names; the most popular one being Onyeburu and which often infuriate them and cause them to give us a hot chase often around the streets.  While this was the scenario in the township, those in the Diobu area were not as bold and as such, come out only after mid-night to do their job. It was difficult to see one in Diobu unless you keep late nights.

The dumpsite for  the waste for those in Port Harcourt township used to be somewhere around Creek Road, after the yam market and down into the river. Those at Diobu also dispose the waste at a waterfront around Elechi beach. Even so, both Town and Diobu; these men sometimes offload  the content of their buckets or pail in unathorised places or even at the doorsteps of those who provoked them while they engaged in their legitimate jobs. They were very powerful in terms of deciding where they disposed the waste especially when you call them Onyeburu [Carrier].

So, while the pail system was considered unhealthy, old fashioned and had problems with disposal, the pit system which also existed in most of the adjoining communities, never had that disposal problem. It can only be discontinued when filled, though it also had its disadvantages.

Coming from the above past, it became a delight when, around the early 1990s or thereabout, the Rivers State government came up with a decision to phase out the above systems. And, instruction was given to all landlords to change over to the modern system [water closet toilet system]. That was a real, landmark decision as far as sanitation is concerned.

However, people have observed that the decision to effect the change not far reaching. There was no plan to go ahead. The lack of focus and observed inadequacies of the above and intention of government has placed responsibility to carry on, on the present government of not only Rivers state, but all Niger Delta governments that does not have an approved sewage disposal site where sewage is dumped and treated before disposal. This is very crucial and remains the crux of the matter here.

The non-provision of adequate sewage disposal site may be viewed in some quarters as a real neglect. Yet more state governments, e.g Bayelsa state; are issuing instructions to landlords to provide toilets. Though, it is commendable to order the landlords, this was what took an NGO, The Eagle’s Eye of Bayelsa [TEEB] to the office of the Hon. Commissioner for Environment, on 22^nd September, 2005.in their address, they cited the African Charter on Human and Peoples Right which stated that ‘’All people shall have the right to[a] generally satisfactory environment favourable to their development’’.

Believing that accountability does not begin and end with money alone but also on the acts of omission and commission in relation to the job positions individuals occupy in government, TEEB said ‘’ The ministry of environment,we believe, has more to do in relation to that order to landlords in Bayelsa state. It is a responsibility which the ministry owes the society. While it is the responsibility of landlords to to provide toilets [water closet]; it is equally the duty of your ministry to provide adequate sewage dumpsite for disposal’’.

The number of sewage trucks plying the streets of Port Harcourt has increased over the years. Since there are no central street sewer lines, as is the case in developed nations, these trucks are the only alternative. But , before the current upswing in sewage disposal , only few organizations like Shell, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Nigerian Ports Authority, etc that used to dislodge septic tanks and its soakaways. And as very few persons knew about these trucks, some of them took advantage of the people’s ignorance to dispose the contents of the vaccum truck anyhow. Now that the masses are aware of what these trucks really are; it is difficult to just dump at the nearby bushes. People are very vigilant now.

It is most unfortunate that not much thought is devoted to this very important matter. Yet, the New Modern Medical Counsellor has it on page 96, that ‘’the disposal of human excreta is probably the most important problem in sanitation….Good sanitation is an excellent kind of health insurance’’ And according to Badey [2001], pollution is the ‘’unfavourable change in our surroundings, caused either by natural means or human activities which affects our water supplies, soil and air we breathe’’.

When I was growing up,the most common illness used to be malaria. But these days, as you are treating for malaria, the medical experts will tell you ‘’you have typhoid’’. How precarious the situation is [lack of sewage treatment plant and dumpsite]in the Niger Delta is made more obvious when is realized that ‘’sanitation alone in the leading countries of the world has reduced illness and death from most infectious diseases to a small fraction of what they were a few decades ago. This is understandably true of typhoid fever. Thus, we need to protect our water and food  from any chance of fecal or sewage contamination by proper disposal of all human excreta.’’  [New Modern Medical Counsellor].

Let me put the present situation in perspective. Before the present upswing in sewage evacuation and disposal , sewage truck operators were discharging on trial and error basis. At the fore was the crew of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing. It is to their credit that even the present disposal sites [illegal]at Trans-Amadi, Choba, Eastern Bypass [Marine Base] and others such spots were discovered.

While doing the trial and error, somewhere around the Eastern Bypass [between Julius Berger and Redemption Ministry]was being used as disposal site. Along Aba Road [near the former toolgate] and even the Rivers state government recognized Elechi beach were used. But, the Rivers State House of Assembly, having listened to the protest of inhabitants of Elechi beach; stopped further recognition of the place as disposal site.

So, right now, all the sewage disposal trucks go to somewhere in Trans-Amadi or a borrowed pit near Uniport, in Choba; to discharge. Security is provided for these sewage operators by those individuals who allow them to discharge in the above mentioned places, i.e. Trans-Amadi and Choba. The fee per day per truck is N3,000.00 for anyone coming to dispose sewage there.

One of the reasons why states like Bayelsa and others in the Niger Delta[ with similar terrain] must take the matter of sewage treatment and disposal seriously is the unique topography of the environment. The situation demands that something urgent be done to prevent avoidable epidemic. In Bayelsa State, it is unarguable, now that orders have been issued to landlords,within the next one year or thereabout the sewage trucks will be everywhere. The government should therefore be proactive in meeting the challenges posed by urbanization and upswing in sewage disposal. While the borrow pits in and around Port Harcourt are deep and can hardly fill with water, those around Yenagoa are shallow and often filled with water,. They are often used as fish ponds, swimming pools and, sometimes drinking and washing. In the rainy season, water flow easily from one place to the other.

So, the need for an adequate sewage dumpsite, with treatment plant installed; is more than a necessity for the good health and safety of the people and environment. More so, as these sewage operators apply chemicals such as diesel, kerosene and others, it will not be ideal for these waste to be allowed to freely flow into our fish ponds, swamps, rivers and creeks; especially the fresh water areas of our environment, without being treated.

It becomes expedient therefore, to conclude by calling on the NDDC and our state governments to take proper study of the environment and locate ideal spots for the treatment and disposal of sewage. Apart from saving lives, a well prepared sewage disposal site will generate revenue for the maintenance of the site and, even employ some persons. It is envisaged that government or any organization that establishes such a site will be making not less than N30, 000.00 daily. Already,  some states like Lagos are either  having such on-going or about to embark on this dual purpose project.

Anything worth doing, they say, is worth doing well. It is good to order landlords to change to water system toilets, better still is the treatment and disposal of sewage in approved dumpsite provided by government. Without the later, the order to landlords is not complete and lacks aesthetic value.

An Article written by Alagoa Morris and published in some papers, including the Wednesday/Thursday  [1^st/2^nd March, 2006] editions of The Tide, page 9.  99% of the article remain as it was written then. 

N/B: All the attached photos were shots taken in Yenagoa,Bayelsa State.