Enugu Clean Team Project: The Tripartite Journey
“A Cleaner and Healthier Enugu State”
by Ekene Odigwe
Keeping the environment clean is important to being healthy. Many disease-causing germs exist in dirty environments, such as the ones that cause diarrhoea and worm infections. This means that many diseases can be prevented through good personal hygiene, and by keeping the environment clean.
In the preamble to the 2030 Agenda, world leaders affirmed that they are: “Determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change”, so that it can support the needs of a healthy environment which also means clean surroundings.
In The Beginning
On Friday, 25th May 2018, the Enugu Clean Team Project, a brainchild of His Excellency Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi the Executive Governor of Enugu State was formally commissioned. The project was born from the age-long effort to rescue the human environment that is fast losing its biodiversity to the industrial and technological activities of man.
The United Nations Goal 11 indicators show that cities will play an important role in achieving the SDGs, the goal states that “A vision for cities has never been more important than it is today’’.
Enugu, a state with a population of 3,267,837 persons as of the last census held in 2006 ( was estimated at over 3.8 million in 2012, 4.4 million in 2016), this is due to factors like high and rising number of tertiary institutions, a relatively active entertainment scene and seeming scenes of a progressive but affordable city. With the surge also comes the need to keep not just the cities clean but also keep the residents healthy, this supports the primary objective of the Enugu Clean Team Project that is a “Cleaner and Healthier Enugu State”.
The Project under the leadership of Very Rev. Fr. Michael Amobi Ogbu was founded on the tripartite benefits of; health, aesthetics and youth empowerment. “ In a cleaner environment, there is a reduced risk of epidemic and allied health challenges. Ihe di mma n’anya gbara akwukwo- is an Igbo aphorism that comes to highlight the fact that beauty is nice to behold and appeals to the visual senses.”
Highlighting the Wins
The Clean Team Project, Enugu State has not only given the city a quality aesthetic facelift it is also serving as an intervention through which the youth are kept safe from the risk of engaging their youthful energy in nefarious activities and proliferating crimes in Enugu State. With increased employment through this project, individual lives are made better and development is fostered even at the grassroots.
Youths are said to be the backbone of the nation, this assertion means that they can change the future of society with their well being and courageous behaviour. Fortunately, Enugu youth are more interested in keeping their cities clean and earn some more. They spend their mornings doing their jobs and spend the rest at either school or workplace as has been seen. They have a vision and have dreams and are making an attempt at achieving them.
At least 20,000 youth in Enugu State applied for the state Cleaning and Beautification job after the announcement for recruitment of additional 1,000 staff was approved “I can recall vividly that when we started the Enugu Clean Team Project, young people were reluctant to come for employment for the initial 1,000 workers in the project but now the story has changed,’’ The pioneer coordinator of the team Very Rev. Fr. Michael Amobi Ogbu said.
Fr. Ogbu explains that in the resolve to be steadfast and committed to maintaining a healthy and tidy clean environment, ECTP devotes their staff to daily sanitation at their duty posts. “There is no going back because we are motivated by the inner drive for “A Cleaner and Healthier Enugu State”
The environment is simply defined as our surroundings, including both living and nonliving things and youth are the young people. Environmental protection is a broad subject. Protecting the environment starts with pollution control, therefore; these youths are helping reduce waste by paying attention to minor details in their daily lives.
Okechukwu Agwu is one of the young people who are benefiting from the project “This is more of a leadership orientation, helping to sensitize us as young people on managing our environment, expectations and being responsible agents of change,”.
Chiamaka Ugwu told our correspondent of how she didn’t have money to complete his school fees; she used the money from the project to pay his school fees.
Finally, efficient healthy environment systems can address the needs of men with consideration to financial empowerment.
The health benefits are obvious. A sustainable healthy environment will determine how easy it is to access other key services in the city, such as education and employment, and is therefore connected indirectly to SDG 1 (Eradicate poverty) and SDG 4 (Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education). Young people are proving they have what it takes to make their communities healthy, beautiful and prosperous.
When compared to other states, Enugu moves about at different times, for different reasons, in different ways, and has fewer health challenges. A well-designed healthy environment system that supports clean air, aesthetic beauty and provides employment will allow all people to fully participate in community life and creates safer, cleaner, healthier, and more social places.
Doctor Nwanneka Obi asserts that many disease-causing germs can be found in a dirty environment. Food and water she said maybe contaminated at the source. For example, “ A dusty environment can be dangerous to children who have allergies and dirty drainages can breed mosquitoes and these are all present in the environment, some children develop a runny nose (rhinitis), or cough. Children with asthma might have an attack”
It is under the auspices of a clean environment that the people will succeed or fail in achieving the goals of ensuring healthy lives.
It will be the cities that determine if they achieve inclusive economic growth or yield to greater inequality. It is in cities where people will seek opportunities for higher education and employment. And, it will be cities that determine if people will continue their steadily increasing usage of the world’s resources or if they can realize a more sustainable path.
Mr Michael Tochukwu Anidobu the Head Supervisor reaffirms that keeping the environment clean is just as important as maintaining good personal hygiene. The environment is the extension of one’s body. “Everyone should develop respect for the environment as well as an appreciation for keeping it clean and healthy. They must also realize that keeping the environment clean is everybody’s responsibility”
Landscape elements sometimes exhibit seasonal variations. For example, erosion can change the character of a mountain or hill; plants bear fruits and have other similar variations while the flow and colour of the water change especially during the rainy season. Environment features can either be natural like rock outcrops or man-made like bridges, works of sculpture and other street or urban furniture.
According to Friends of Environment — A clean and tidy environment is bound to look better than a filthy, smelly one with unbearably unhygienic conditions. A clean environment is bound to be aesthetically pleasing to look at as well.
The Enugu Clean Project Team has helped to enliven and give prominence or distinctiveness to the city, for instance, the Michael Okpara Square, the Murtala Mohammed Park, and many round-about in Enugu urban area.
The cleaning and integration of three of the above landscape features in Enugu have greatly helped to improve the quality of the Enugu urban environment.
Umar Farouk Ahmad, of TeachSDGs Champion, Nigeria reiterates that when he said that each of the SDGs is related to the environment which makes a clean environment the lifeblood towards achieving sustainable development.
Environment means the surrounding habitat of man. In its widest sense, it refers to the entire earth with its green forests, the oceans, the layers of air and oxygen. This leads to Goals 12, 13, 14 and 15 being categorized as ‘Environmental SDGs.’
A cleaner place will not only attract tourists but also attract big-shot companies, corporate giants and multinationals and create more job opportunities in your area. Says, Ifunanya Mark “Why to move the cities to look for jobs when you can stay and work in your own, Enugu Clean Team project is enhancing the Appeal of Enugu City”
The Way Forward
Mr Ofunne, an Environmental health officer says “ the earth we live in is the only option for all living things on earth. Our environment gives us a lot of things to live in, mainly air, land and water. It is not only enough to use the resources but we should protect them. Our life depends on so many non-living components “
Mrs Ifeoma Ifezue a teacher suggests launching a school-wide campaign to improve the environment in the school. “Children can take photos or draw what they see. It is important to show “before” and “after” images. The focus is not on criticizing, but on finding ways to improve these environments.”
She further suggested four (4) Ways for Schools to Support Enugu Clean Team Project for Sustainable Development such as:
- Planting trees, shrubs, flowers, and other plants. Teachers should encourage their students to plant trees in their neighbourhoods. This can act as a natural air filter, cleaning carbon out of the air and impounding it in the ground and plants.
- Teachers should encourage students to write small articles for publication to draw the attention of their respective policymakers on the effects of cutting down trees without replacing them with new ones on the environment. Thereby, helping the Government put up policies that ban deforestation and encourage afforestation.
- Schools can encourage students to take public transportation or school buses when coming to school. This act will reduce the number of carbon emissions that individual vehicles emit.
- Teachers should stress the benefits of biking and walk on the environment, as no more fossil fuels are used in this type of transportation and it can also serve as means of exercise for the students.
Town cleaning has a role to play in the improvement of our urban environment especially in this period of rapid urbanization in the Enugu State says Kinsley Ujobi “when this element is properly integrated into an urban area, there is no doubt that the quality of Enugu urban environment will be greatly improved.”
Another environmentalist, Dr Nnebedum while praising the Enugu State government for a job well done with the tripartite project listed four recommendations that will ensure better results and sustainability include:
- The government should review relevant policies and schemes to ensure that the Enugu Clean Project is made to include landscape elements and open spaces.
- Where they are already available in the urban environment, efforts should be made to develop an efficient maintenance culture that is geared towards the up-keep of environmental elements so that they do not lose their value.
- Enugu Clean Team Project should be planned and designed to conform to existing cleaning agencies, ESWAMA and Capital Development Authority. This will help reduce the initial costs of equipment as well as help check financial problems.
- The government should mount a campaign to educate the masses on the importance of Cleaning their immediate environment, bag and dispose of their wastes properly.
A Senior Registrar in the Department of Community Medicine, Dr Michelle Oduoma argued that according to the five pillars of environmental health; Disease control, Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), built environment, occupational health and food safety and hygiene (FSH) everyone is a health agent.
She tasked all to join the Clean Team Enugu Project by participating in Environmental Wellness Challenges like:
- Ride cycling, walk or take public transportation instead of driving.
- Recycle and compost.
- Plant and tend a garden.
- Use natural cleaning products.
- Choose a healthy habit in this category.
- Remove clutter from home or office.
The pilot project in the Enugu urban area is a success.
Efforts should now be geared towards replicating the same in all seventeen local government areas of the state.
Originally published at http://discoverenugu042.wordpress.com on April 23, 2021.
