Who’s to blame as refuse heaps swamp Lagos?

File: Heap of refuse

In 2025, Lagos State showcased vibrancy in infrastructure development and relentless ambition to be a mega city, among other potential.

However, the Africa’s fifth fastest-growing sub-national economy was weighed down by some urban failures, especially poor environmental sanitation.

In spite of successes recorded by the Sanwo-Olu administration in infrastructure development, agriculture, tourism and health, housing, transport and waterfront and many other areas, heaps of refuse characterised the commercial nerve centre in 2025.

Critics say Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, alongside Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, made visible efforts in keeping Lagos clean, but filth remained at the various corners of the state, frustrating its mega city moves as far as cleanliness is concerned.

On highways and inner-city roads such as Ikorodu Road, Agege Motor Road, Oshodi axis, Apapa corridor, CMS stretch, and some parts of Surulere, numerous piles of garbage and discarded waste were scattered.

By mid-2025, blocked drains repeatedly triggered flash floods at Mushin, Alimosho, Ajegunle and Lekki Phase II, with some residents expressing concern about weak enforcement and monitoring frameworks, while others blame the residents for recalcitrancy.

A teacher, Mrs Nkechi Mba cautioned that poor sanitation in the commercial centre could pose a health hazard, urging collective efforts in tackling it.

She appealed to Lagos residents to comply with sanitation laws and properly dispose their refuse, urging LAWMA to intensify efforts to manage waste to improve environmental sanitation.

“There should be sanitation officers checking the activities of restaurants at this point in time,” she said.

Sharing her view on Instagram, a popular content creator, Kofoworola Bamidele (Kofo_unfilterterd on Instagram), said: “Lagos deserves a cleaner, healthier environment.