Between 2013 and 2021, I was in Gwarimpa, a highbrow area in the Federal Capital City (FCT), Abuja.
Gwarimpa is rated as the number 6 posh area as places like Asokoro, Maitama, Wuse 2, Guzape and Kamtpe come in order of 1 to 5.
But then, in all my days in Gwarimpa I never failed to tell those who care to listen how much I like Kubwa .
The host of heaven heard my murmuring and as God will have it, one thing led to the other and by 2022 I found myself staying in Kubwa, a multi-purpose mixed used commercial city.
Kubwa comprises areas such as federal housing, army estate, phase 1 up to phase 4, NNPC axis, NYSC camp axis as well as ARAB contractor axis as they are fondly called .
Kubwa is where every corner is full of corner shops, schools here and there even though there are designated areas as markets.
The above details are not the reason for this piece of literature.
The main gist is the indiscriminate dumping of refuse all around the “Kubwa city”. It is very hard to believe that federal civil servants with high level exposure could allow such acts of indiscriminate refuse dumping.
The refuse collectors popularly called “bolla boys” are the king of boys here. They collect refuse in one street and when no one is watching, they quickly dump it in another lonely street.
The main depot for the God-fearing among them is a flowing river, a natural gift from God. Flowing river runs only God knows where through Kubwa on the federal Housing axis down to the phase 4 axis.
For many of us who are allergic to filthy environments ,the issue of refuse dump is a serious one in Kubwa.
The river has lost its original value. It has become a refuse dump. It now has no choice than to ooze out offensive odour, creating an unhealthy atmospheric system.
Why the majority of the people care less, it beats one’s imagination that a place such as Kubwa which houses most of the federal civil servants can be left unkempt.
In my opinion, the new minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyeson Wike has a lot of work to do .
To sanitize Kubwa, something like LAWMA obtainable in Lagos needs to be replicated in kubwa.
I opine that contracts should be given to private waste disposal companies who need to work round the clock to ensure a clean and decent environment for the people. READ ALSO:
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This action needs to be taken very fast as we all know a healthy workforce is a productive workforce
.The “boola boys” whom I prefer to call “ebola boys” need to be engaged in another sector through skill acquisition .
My lesson in this quest for a stay in Kubwa is this – be mindful of what you wish for or crave for because it may come to pass. Imagine if I had wished for a better place, so it would have been.
Now I have learnt to wish better!
Rashidat Yusuf writes from Abuja, can be reached via: Yusufrashidat12@gmail.com.
