LASG Commissioner for Environment Tokunbo Wahab Replies Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour
Dear Mr. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour @GRVlagos ,
Thank you once again for contributing to the important dialogue on sustainable waste management in Lagos. Your concerns around affordability, public health, and the responsibilities of government are noted. However, I would like to respectfully offer some clarifications on the economic, operational, and environmental rationale underpinning current waste management policies in our megacity since you are ignorant of the facts but base your opinions, as usual, on conjectures and attention seeking assumptions. So as to put this to rest once and for all because he who knows not and knows not that he knows not must be helped to know he knows not …. As ignorance can no longer be bliss ….
⸻
1. Waste Generation Is a Byproduct of Consumption — and Must Be Managed Sustainably
It is important to begin with the foundational principle guiding waste management globally: the Polluter Pays Principle (PPP). This principle, endorsed by the United Nations, the OECD, and most developed countries, establishes that those who generate waste should contribute to the cost of its safe collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal.
Waste is not created by the government; it is generated by households, businesses, and institutions. And with over 13,000 metric tonnes of waste generated daily in Lagos alone, managing this volume in a sustainable, hygienic, and cost-effective manner is an enormous and shared responsibility.
Indeed, Lagos is one of the few cities in Africa where the state still subsidizes waste collection, particularly in low-income communities — despite mounting pressures on public finances.
⸻
2. Why Shared Costs Are Necessary — Even Amid Inflation
You highlighted the severe economic hardship currently faced by many Nigerians. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS):
•Headline inflation as of February 2025 stands at 31.7%,
•Food inflation has reached 37.9%,
•And energy costs — driven by the deregulation of PMS and FX fluctuations — continue to climb.
We acknowledge these realities, which is why the @followlasg under @jidesanwoolu led administration does not operate a full cost-recovery model for waste. Rather, we employ a hybrid model, where:
•The government subsidizes operations in vulnerable areas,
•Residents pay only a fraction of the actual cost of collection,
•And where necessary, additional interventions (such as emergency evacuations) are carried out at no extra charge to the communities.
Nonetheless, even modest upward adjustments in collection fees — when needed to reflect rising operational costs (diesel, vehicle parts, wages, landfill fees) — are agreed upon in consultation with Community Development Associations (CDAs) and are applied transparently.
It is worth noting that PSP operators are not government contractors paid from the public treasury, but private firms engaged in a franchised, performance-based model. Expecting them to absorb steep cost increases without adjustment would lead to service collapse — something we must all avoid. Except we choose to play the ostrich which is, of course, a modus operandi of those who only read about governance on papers but does not know the practical application in reality.
⸻
3. Public Health Risk from Infrequent Collection: A Shared Responsibility
You raised a concern: that twice-monthly waste collection could pose health risks. We agree. However, it is important to state that in this particular estate, the twice-monthly schedule was not imposed by the state — it was a consensus between the residents and their PSP operator, based on their stated willingness to pay.
The appropriate frequency for household waste evacuation in urban settings is at least weekly, particularly during hot seasons when decomposition accelerates. That is why we continue to engage residents’ associations to reconsider their preferences where public health is at stake.
Additionally, LAWMA @Lawma_gov has initiated a comprehensive audit and service review that will result in the re-zoning of PSPs, the removal of non-performing operators, and the expansion of our central intervention capacity to respond to emergencies.
⸻
4. Balancing Equity and Sustainability in Public Services
We fully agree that governance must not be exploitative, punitive, or extractive. However, equity is not the same as uniform subsidy. Instead, what we are working towards is a progressive waste management framework that:
•Differentiates between low-, middle- and high-income communities,
•Enables flexible payment options including digital and POS-based platforms,
•Uses data from ongoing household and commercial enumeration to inform better service delivery and pricing,
•And expands the circular economy (recycling, reuse, composting, waste-to-energy) to generate local jobs and reduce landfill pressure.
In this model, the poor are protected, the environment is preserved, and the system remains financially viable.
⸻
5. The Way Forward: Collaboration, Not Division
Mr. Rhodes-Vivour, your youthful passion and zeal is undeniable albeit applied ignorantly. In navigating the difficult terrain of urban governance and public service , the phrase “you campaign in poetry but govern in prose” comes to mind. Hence, we must be careful not to frame every policy that requires citizen contribution as predatory. Doing so risks discouraging the very civic responsibility and shared sacrifice that successful cities are built upon.
We remain committed to:
•Protecting the most vulnerable,
•Improving service reliability,
•Eliminating black spots and illegal dumps,
•And building a Lagos where waste is not just disposed, but transformed into opportunity.
Lastly, I do hope you will take your time to unlearn, learn and relearn, especially in understanding how government really works in reality, beyond the mob appeal.
Cheers!
TW
0 Comments