By UDUMA KALU

Aba, the commercial nerve-centre of Abia State, bore for some time the unenviable tag of the dirtiest city in Nigeria. The reason for this was not far to seek. This city which is renowned for its manufacturing and commercial activities was plagued by the problems of insecurity, environmental disorder, poor electricity supply, etc.

The people of Aba, and indeed the entire Abia State citizenry, must have been seriously embarrassed when the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ndozi Okonjo-Iweala in a lecture organised and attended by the Governor of Abia State, Theodore Orji, described Aba as very dirty.

Many visitors have also been quoted as saying that the city stank horribly, just as they criticised its bad road networks. For instance, an English woman had in a Youtube documentary written thus: “I have been to Aba. It is very dirty, (with lots of)mosquitoes. Too bad …”.

That was last year when whole roads and streets were blocked by mountains of refuse, with erosion and flood causing a lot of havoc. On Ngwa Road, by Ohanku; Asa Road by Michael’s; Asa Road by Milverton, Dear John Junction by 7UP, Ogbor Hill; Ngwa Road by Asa, Obohia Road, off Ngwa Road, Port-Harcourt Road, Jubilee to Hospital roads, heaps of refuse blocked the drainage system with the gutters oozed offensive odour.

Most disposal points had no buckets. Refuse was dropped along the roads, soiling the city and blocking free flow of traffic and causing accidents. In places like Ngwa Road by Ohanku, traders sat on the refuse with their wares.

For the people of Aba, in spite of the double taxation collected by the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency, ASEPA, the agency failed woefully in its responsibility.

This was Aba before Governor Theodore Orji appointed Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu Deputy General Manager of ASEPA. His main task, Orji told him, was to keep Aba clean on a sustainable basis. It was a challenge Dr Ikpeazu accepted by assuring the people that he would transform Aba to one of the neatest cities in the country.

And some months after, Aba residents who were most critical of the return of filth to the city after the former General Manager of ASEPA, Mr Cosmos Ndukwe, became Chief of Staff, are now singing a different tune. According them, the city is now wearing a new, decent look, thanks to the new helms man at ASEPA.

Dr Ikpeazu is a former head of Head of Department of Applied Chemistry, Enugu State University of Technology, a biochemist whose main focus is biochemical toxicology and is also reputed to have carried out researches in environmental sciences.

Before his current appointment, Ikpeazu was Special Adviser on Environment and Sanitation to Orji and was also the General Manager of the Abia State Passengers Integrated Manifest and Safety Scheme, ASPIMS.

Getting set for the job

To prepare the ground for success, the new ASEPA boss was said to have tried to endear himself to the people by showing active interest in sports, schools, markets and communal engagements. He established ASEPA Clubs in schools and enforced the Governor’s suspension of tax on disposal of wastes.

Ikpeazu inherited two functional trucks in Aba – one roll-off truck and one compactor. He repaired three more roll-off trucks and increased the number of compactors to six. He also commissioned an engineer to provide more buckets to make up for the shortfall for the 62 places being served by only 18 buckets.

Indiscriminate disposal of refuse

According to his aide, Mr. Enyinnaya E. Appolos, when Ikpeazu met with the people of Aba, he had lamented the indiscriminate disposal of refuse by residents, noting that such actions frustrated his agency from keeping Aba clean.

He also urged neighbouring states to stop smuggling refuse into Aba, warning that offenders would be charged to court to serve as deterrent to others. ASEPA also kept surveillance on the Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway to stop residents from dumping refuse on the express road.

With the support of the Governor, Ikpeazu was said to have bought buckets, roller trucks and engaged enough staff. He was also advised by the Governor to carry out most of his evacuations at night.

ASEPA has about 57 buckets or giant-size waste bins. From Abia Polytechnic to Ngwa Road, there are over five buckets for people to dump their refuse. People are allowed to throw their refuse into the buckets from 5 am till night.   Where there is no bucket, staff are stationed to reclaim the waste thrown into heaps, Appollos said.

When the buckets are full, the roll-off trucks, four in number, take them to a place in Ihie on Port Harcourt Road at night where the refuse is dumped.

“We monitor the exercise. His office is at the Ministry of Works, Aba. A member of Adventist Church, he goes to work from the church on Saturdays. The state funds the agency, so ASEPA does not charge individuals to dispose their refuse. Abia stopped collection of refuse charges till further notice. The state is the sole financier,” the aide informed.

In the morning, minders clean up the dump sites and cover the buckets. Each day in Aba, 70 buckets of refuse are evacuated while the staff who clean the streets follow it up by cleaning the streets. If the refuse is not cleaned for a day, there will be environmental crisis in Aba.

On account of this, the heaps of refuse in the streets have disappeared. Ehi Road, once a mountain of waste, is now motorable. The Ministry of Environment is draining Ikot Ekpene Road. It is also cleaning up gutters and trucks dispose the waste.

“Ikpeazu believes that if you get Aba right, it will serve the East and the entire Eastern region. Aba’s success should be part of the people’s passion,” Apollos went on.

Need for Federal presence

To many Aba residents, Aba has been neglected by the federal government. Aba residents told VM that the city needs a power plant. “There is no federal presence, only police and prisons. We want Aba well positioned to enable it to provide services the people need.

Aba is a market but it produces what it sells. People come from Central Africa, West Africa, etc, to Aba. Aba needs federal attention. The South East government should also think of Aba. So, the Federal Government should help Aba to become the Taiwan of Africa. Rate of activities in Aba is high. It is not just about trading, “Ikpeazu’s said.

But the agency needs more buckets and trucks. “The population of Aba is exploding due to activities of Boko Haram in the North which has forced more people to settle in the city, thereby increasing its environmental problem. Ikpeazu is interpreting the vision of Orji on waste disposal. He brought in Dr. Ikpeazu because he knows he can interpret his vision.”