Amidst offensive stench oozing from a heap of refuse, residents of Sakele community near Pakata Roundabout, Ilorin are living in fear of the unknown. AHMED 'LATEEF of The Herald visited the community and filed this report.
Abiodun Bashir (pseudo name) was a first time visitor to Ilorin. His visit to the capital of Kwara State was not an aimless adventure. He came with a ray of hope to accomplishing the task of being a student of a Federal University domiciled in the city. He was billed to sit for a qualifying examination.
As a stranger coming into the metropolitan city for the first time, Bashir had contacted his childhood friend, Kazeem, informing him of his coming and pleaded with him to accommodate him for few days he would spend. His plan was to squat in the friend's apartment located near an abandoned parcel of land, apparently converted to a refuse dump spot in Sakele community, Adewole Ward of Ilorin West Local Government Area of the state.
Being a new face in the town, Kazeem quickly dashed to a popular bus terminus beside Queen Elizabeth Secondary School, Ilorin to pick his friend up after being informed that he was at Geri-Alimi. On getting to the spot, Kazeem saw his old friend alighting from a commercial bus, he advanced and exchanged banters with him.
On that spot, they recalled the nostalgic memories of their friendship way back in Lagos when the duo used to move together as if they were of same parents.
Before now, Bashir did not have foreknowledge of where his friend resides nor where he was being taken to. As he was being ferried home, the visitor kept appreciating the beauty adorning some parts of the city. And he intermittently asked his friend whether he was still in Ilorin and he responded "welcome to Ilorin".
What amazed him transcended the cleanliness observed on his coming. His admiration centred around how the city was aesthetically pleasing with quality infrastructure put in place. With the little sight seen in just few minutes of cruising around some parts of Ilorin, Bashir was already making up his mind of relocating to the city and probably become a permanent resident.
Overwhelmed with what he saw, the visitor did not notice any refuse dump spot near the building of an apartment he was to squat with his friend for the next few days. Being a new guest, Bashir was treated to nice dishes that he would not forget in a hurry. This alone solidified his plan to make Ilorin his new abode.
However, unknown to him, trouble was lurking around the corner for him. He slept around 11pm that day, and when it was 4am of the following day, Bashir had already developed a crisis. Though he perceived some obnoxious odour before he slept off, he didn't know where it was coming from.
The situation caused anxiety as Kazeem himself became panicky and ceaselessly taken aback what could have been responsible for this. The visitor was rushed to a hospital where it was confirmed that there was no symptom the boy was sick.
Knowing his body system, Bashir told the team of people, who rescued him that he knew what went wrong. At that moment, he disclosed that he was allergic to offensive odour, a tacit reference to a parcel of land turned to a refuse dump ground with stench oozing out. He said his condition might become precarious if he decided to spend few minutes further in his friend's apartment.
The nasty experience of the visitor was one out of many in the area. Since the incident, the residents of Sakele area have become apprehensive over impending outbreak of diseases.
Finding showed that the parcel of land had been abandoned for years with the owner refusing to make use of the land. Because the land was lying fallow, people in the area reportedly turned it to a refuse dump site while others from adjoining areas also disposed their refuse and garbage on the spot.
The land had thus turned to a heap of refuse. Also littered the land was faeces. Any visitor to that area would need not be told of the offensive odour that had swarmed the community. Whoever walking around the area would have to either use nose guard or cover his nose properly in order not to inhale the offensive stench.
If the heap of refuse was left unattended to, then the people in the area would have to grapple with outbreak of scourge of unmitigated proportion.
Apparently worried over the location of the refuse dump, some residents of the community approached the Ilorin West Local Area Authority for help to clear the spot of the refuse to avert looming environmental hazard.
In responding to the call, the chairman, Transitional Implementation Committee (TIC) of the Ilorin West council, Mr Abdulhameed Oladipupo Alli, visited the spot and gave preconditions before the council could embark on the clearing exercise.
According to him, if the council should go ahead with the clearing of the heap of refuse, the owner of the land would have to forfeit it to the government.
Alli, who could not hide his displeasure with the danger the refuse dump posed to the people, described it as an eyesore.
He said the conversion of the parcel of land to the spot where people dump refuse at will, had constituted nuisance to the well being of the residents.
The TIC chairman insisted that should the council proceed on the clearing of the refuse dump, it would convert it to a government property by building block of shops or public toilet on it.
"This place is not habitable for human beings at all. Look at the offensive odour oozing out from the refuse dump. Something needed to be done to save this community from outbreak of diseases.
"While we intend to do that, we must also emphasize that if the council finally goes ahead to clear the land of refuse and garbage dumped there, it would be converted for public use.
"Our belief is that if the council should clear the land of this rubbish now, the owner, who had abandoned the land and refused to make himself available, will surface and begin to plan for what he would use the land for.
"As you know, there is no money in the council, and we are trying to be prudent and meticulous on how we spend the meagre resources at our disposal. If we should clear the land now, before you know it, the acclaimed owner will come and say this and that. As a government, we want to be accountable to our people and justify the reason why we are in the system.
"Government money is not for free. We have given preconditions that if we cleared the land, it would automatically be converted for public use. We can decide to build shops or even public toilet for the benefit of the people in this area.
"And another option is that if he was willing to sell the land, the council will buy it and do something on it so that it would not just be lying fallow as we have it now. We should know that as government contributes own quota, we as citizens, should also play our part and avoid endangering the lives of innocent people. That is how a sane society is run", the TIC boss said.
Alli assured that his administration would continue to be responsive and responsible to the yearnings and aspirations of the people and urged them to cooperate with him as he steers the ship of the council.
Some residents of the community, who spoke during the council chairman's visit, appealed to the authority to clear the land of the refuse, saying it constitutes hazard to the health and well being of the people.
They claimed the owner of the land came sometime ago without showing any desire of what he planned to use the land for.
