February environmental sanitation in Lagos state (Nigeria) holds on 28th February, 2015

February environmental sanitation in Lagos state (Nigeria) holds on 28th February, 2015

By Hafiz Adewuyi   February 28, 2015   2 comments :

This is to confirm that Lagos state's environmental sanitation for February 2015 has not been cancelled and will hold as scheduled (7.00 am to 10.00 am) on 28th (last Saturday of the month).

This post is a follow-up to my last month post talking about the need for the state's Ministry of Environment (MOE) to ensure that sanitation cancellation information is released to the public on time and effectively. January's sanitation was cancelled abruptly due to election registration (PVC - Permanent Voter's Card) reasons. To my disappointment, I noticed that neither the website nor Facebook page of the Lagos state MOE carried this news, even up to the day of the cancelled sanitation. This laxity led to a lot of waste time, due to people postponing their activities on the assumption that the sanitation exercise would hold as scheduled.

To the Lagos MOE's credit though, when I checked up their website and Facebook page yesterday, I saw there was an announcement to the effect that today's sanitation would hold, dated Thursday (26th February, 2015). Now, no one would say two days' notification is too bad for a government organisation, yeah?

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No customer service in a danfo

No customer service in a danfo

By Hafiz Adewuyi   February 21, 2015   1 comment :

The rickety city transport bus, popularly known as danfo is about to set out on its Yaba to Iyana-Ipaja (Lagos) route. If you're listening, you can easily sense that the passengers are not happy with the driver con business operator. The time is 21:30, off-peak period when majority of the roads in the city have light traffic. Many of the passengers, being aware of this, are not happy with the driver for charging the usual daytime amount. One after the other, each one, inspired by the previous commentator, the disgruntled passengers voice out their displeasure, saying how unfair the driver was for exploiting them. Another factor - apart from the relative expensiveness of the ride - that contributes to the displeasure in the bus is the gross inadequacy of the seating space. Despite paying through their noses, the passengers still have to bear the discomfort of being crammed into a bus like sardines in a can.

In Lagos, a scene like this is not one that is hard to come by. Public transport operators - by their conduct - generally do not seem do have the slightest sense of customer service. To give a sense of the gravity of this condition, let me show you some of the things they do on a daily basis:

- They scowl at passengers for not having exact fare;

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The Car/Cab sharing idea

The Car/Cab sharing idea

By Hafiz Adewuyi   February 08, 2015   3 comments :

I'm sitting in a traditional yellow taxi, quite comfortably, as a matter of fact, in the owner's corner. Never mind that I once used to hold people who I saw doing this in disdain. The cab has the mouldy smell that is characteristic of a rickety Lagos taxi. So, in a bid to get the freshest air I can afford in this situation, into my system, I'm postured towards the right-back window of the saloon car, facing the window directly. This means that a good amount of my attention is on the happenings on the surrounding roads.

I had left my source at closing hour, typical rush hour when virtually everyone hits the road. As usual, the bystanders at Bonny camp bus-stop of Victoria Island are in their hordes. They are waiting for the next bus, which when it eventually arrives, will take only the strongest to make it in, after a nasty episode of push and shove. I take a look at the array of generally young and attractive people at the bus-stop, ranging from the bank worker in his suit and tie, to the food vendor who is much less glamorously dressed. I feel a deep sense of empathy at the inconvenient but self-accepted plight of each of these people.

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Shipping costs (prices) in Nigeria - EMS, NIPOST, Speedpost, DHL

Shipping costs (prices) in Nigeria - EMS, NIPOST, Speedpost, DHL

By Hafiz Adewuyi   February 06, 2015   89 comments :

Of recent, I've been wondering about what it takes (logistically/financially) to ship items by post from within Nigeria. After some meticulous googling, I managed to come up with the following resources that will definitely be of use to someone who is looking to send items by post in Nigeria.

I hope this piece comes in handy in someone's research; to save someone else the hours I spent scouring the web for these valuable but unfortunately, well-hidden resources.

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Will there be environmental sanitation in Lagos tomorrow (this Saturday)?

Will there be environmental sanitation in Lagos tomorrow (this Saturday)?

By Hafiz Adewuyi   February 01, 2015   No comments :

UPDATE 4 (Thursday, 22nd December, 2016)
The Lagos state monthly environmental sanitation exercise which holds monthly on the last Saturday of the month has now been cancelled. This was announced in November 2016 by the Lagos state government and it came after a judgement by the Lagos state court of appeal. The exercise was cancelled on the grounds that the monthly exercise is unconsitutional and is a major hamper to economic growth in a megacity like Lagos where the time is never enough.

UPDATE 3 (Friday, 25th September, 2015)
TL;DR: The environmental sanitation exercise for Saturday, 26th September, 2015 has been cancelled.

I guess due to the Eid-el Kabir holidays? Not sure how much sense that makes though, but then... never mind.

I found this news on the Lagos state MOE's Facebook page:

So says the almighty Lagos MOE

Enjoy your weekend, cos' the holidays are about going out with a big big banggg...

UPDATE 2 (Friday, 29th May, 2015)
TL;DR: The environmental sanitation exercise for Saturday, 30th May, 2015 has been cancelled.

So, I've got news. There will not be environmental sanitation in Lagos state tomorrow: Saturday,  30th May, 2015. This information was provided by the administrator of the Lagos MOE's Facebook page an hour ago, so I believe it's pretty valid.

Enjoy your weekend.

UPDATE 1 (Friday, 29th May, 2015 a.k.a my birthday)
I noticed that this post tends to attract some considerable amount of traffic from co-Lagosians looking to know whether or not, environmental sanitation for the month will hold as usual. This rise in traffic usually peaks on Friday, just a day before the expected sanitation Saturday.

For this reason, I will now monitor both the website and Facebook page of the Lagos state ministry of Environment (MOE, Lagos) when we're approaching the last Saturday of the month. If I am ever able to find any useful piece of information also, I would add updates to this post (just below this one), so visitors can get their answers straight away.

Today, I checked the website and FB page of Lagos state MOE. Sadly, the ministry is apparently on vacation and not surprisingly, this information is not available on either of these channels. Stay tuned though. You just never know what one might find.

Finally, please, feel free to update the post with comments in the event that you have news on this weekend's environment sanitation schedule from a valid source.

Happy democracy day.

ORIGINAL POST
Here I am, on my own, as is the situation most of the time. I'm walking along Western Avenue in Lagos mainland, my mission, to get to the National stadium from Ojuelegba. I'm very aware of my environment, I'm enjoying the walk, revelling in the fact that I'm young and my sturdy legs carry me so gracefully.

Looking at the express lanes alongside the footpath I stride on, something about the road catches my attention. The traffic is unbelievably light for this time of day. I wonder for a bit why this is the case. The reason is not far-fetched. Today is the last Saturday of the month, the states Sabbath, the monthly environmental sanitation day. On this sort of day, people are obligated by law to remain in their houses between the morning hours of 7 and 10. By default, everyone is poised to remain indoors till 10 a.m. Saturday meetings, family outings, garage sales and what have you, are all scheduled with the consideration that absolutely no vehicular movements are permitted on this day.

Strange thing though is this. My phone clock says it's 9 a.m. and I'm damn sure it's correct because it's directly fetched from Airtel's server. I got to Ojuelegba from Yaba by public transport. Normal activities for the day are gaining momentum, howbeit still much slower than they would have been on a regular Saturday. Why, you ask? 

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