By Kamil Kafi
Prior to the the coming of this administration, Bauchi was set on the path to Urban health degeneration and environmental decay due to the disregard for urban waste dumps, especially by the immediate past administration. Waste management practice then was a pseudonym for siphoning the state’s resources through dubious contracts awarded to the friends of Government House.
Another flawed policy that allows the urban residents to dispose-off their waste (indiscriminately) on the streets for evacuation, has to a great extent, desensitized them on the ills of poor personal and sanitary hygiene, and further bred hordes of urban residents with utter disregard for proper waste disposal practices and complete lack of orientation on the need for environmental sustainability through WASH – Water Sanitation and Hygiene.
The resultant nonchalance to waste dumps and flawed urban sanitary policies of the past, have seen the major towns and cities across Bauchi State decayed uncontrollably. With heaps of filthy garbage in public realm and on city streets, impeding free movement of waste/runoff water, people and vehicles along right-of-ways. Little did one wonder why the metropolitan Bauchi was the headquarters of trash and the dirtiest city capital in the region – with increased number of disease outbreaks and floods, annually.
Being very much aware of the herculean task before him, Dr. Ibrahim has since hit the ground running as expected. His ab-initio approaches to waste management in Bauchi are strong pillars for confidence building in his capacity to deliver. In less than two months as the Chief Waste Manager in Bauchi, Ibrahim has started giving a positive spin to the negative narratives about the degenerative scale of our urban areas (by reason of rampant unkempt garbages) and the unfortunate position of Bauchi on waste management strides.
He came in all prepared for the job. Leveraging on the tripod of faith, knowledge and experience in waste management. Ibrahim’s blueprint has taken into consideration all the critical success factors and tied them to time and target. He has so far come-up with good policies – administrative and operational for efficient and effective management of both BASEPA and the Bauchi wastes.
In addition to the new policies for operational efficiencies and effectiveness, Mr. Ibrahim’s idea of inclusion in the business of waste management practice would be a turning point in ensuring a cleaner, safer and healthier Bauchi. His recent involvement of community youths in drainage clearance and inclusion of those important-but-neglected stakeholders – Masu Unguwanni and civil society organizations in charting ways for effective waste management strategies would go a long way in addressing indiscriminate waste challenges and its related problems – disease outbreaks and flooding.
Gone are the days when BASEPA’s works were hijacked – ordinary drainage clearance would gulf a whooping sum of the state’s Ecological Funds under the supervision of Ministry for Special Duties. Today, BASEPA’S Ibrahim has not only succeeded in taking back and owning-up to the drainage clearance responsibility, but has also achieved same through community participation, without requesting for special intervention funds.
Behold the good tidings that the unchecked activities of private waste collectors in Bauchi will ceased to be business as usual under Mal. Ibrahim Gamawa. His agency has set out a new policy which will guide, regulate and support private waste collector’s activities under favourable atmosphere which guarantees their efficiency, effectiveness, safe, healthy competition, decent profits and most importantly, a cleaner Bauchi.
More icing to the cake is the good news that BASEPA under Ibrahim has set out the necessary mechanism for converting “waste into wealth”. Our visionary DG has seen “effluence in effluents and cash in trash”. The target is to enlist BASEPA amongst the revenue generating agencies of our dear State. Madalla da Gomna dan gari, wanda ya zabo mana Ibrahim na gari, mai son gyaran gari da ci gaban gari.
It is hoped that by the time Ibrahim finishes his stewardship as DG, BASEPA, many unprecedented feats would be achieved – credit to HE for making the right but painstaking choice of a young, brilliant, committed and determined DG.
May Allah strengthen Ibrahim’s resolve to deliver on his mandate, make him steadfast in standing for what is right and beneficial to the people.
Kamil writes from Bauchi
