REFUSE DEFACE NSUKKA, ESWAMA HELPLESS

The urban town of Nsukka, Enugu State, used to be the beautiful bride of the first indigenous university, cited on soft green virginal hills; University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, which placed the town in the world map, attracting visitors from all walks of life to the town. But the town now play host to dirt and refuse dumps. South East Voice gathered that heaps of refuse dumps positioned at the entry and exit points of the university town portray the image of the town as the dirtiest city in Enugu State. The heaps continue to increase on a daily bases. Nsukka LGA Enugu State Waste Management Authority, ESWAMA, in Nsukka Local Government Area seems helpless. One out of the two refuse trucks allocated to Nsukka council have broken down for over two years and parked at the local government headquarters, while the only existing one that manage to evacuate refuse break down at intervals to the embarrassment of ESWAMA workers, who resort to using bare hands to carry dirts in the town. A dependable source at Nsukka council, who would not want his name in print, told South-East Voice that the caretaker committee Chairman, Professor Rose Onah, paid no attention to the refuse dumps that litter the town. The source said ESWAMA lacks both manpower, logistics and materials to challenge the scourge of refuse dumps at Police Barracks Junction, which defaces the entry point to both the police and Nsukka council headquarters; Aku Road; Techtonics Road; Onuiyi Junction, residence of the first President of Nigeria, late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe; Ogorugu Road; Ihuama Junction at Obollo Road (Nkpor juction); Ugwu Awalawa and the busy Enugu Road, among others. The erstwhile Chairman of Nsukka LGA, Mr. Tony Okechi Ugwu, tackled the refuse dumps without waiting for the state government’s assistance. But as soon as he left office, sites of the refuse dumps returned. The present caretaker Chairman is said to still be studying the situation, but concentrated more on appointing ad-hoc workers on revenue and obstruction that chase motorists and cyclists from pillar to post. It could be recalled that the former state chairman of Enugu State National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, Chief Joseph Ugwu (aka Obinwanne) used to provide tippers to assist the council evacuate refuse in Nsukka. That gesture has not been harnessed by the successive administration after Tony Ugwu left office. The former Chairman of Allied Business Community, Chief Theophilus Nzuteigbo, said that Enugu State government provided enough refuse bins, but that the problem in Nsukka was inability to handle refuse dumps, which appear in Nsukka at every available space. “Nsukka Local Government Caretaker Committee Chairman should rise to the challenge without looking unto the state government that embarked on roads construction in Nsukka,” he said. Chief Anthony Ozonwuemelie (aka Old Man), Chairman, Nsukka Urban Police Community Relations Committee, PCRC, said that the sight of refuse dumps in Nsukka is embarrassing to visitors to UNN. He called on the caretaker committee chairman to hire tippers and assist ESWAMA clean up the town. Efforts made to speak with Professor Onah failed as she did not respond to calls and text messages put across to her line.