Medical Doctor Laments Refuse Dumping On Road Medians, Poor Environmental Enforcement In Oyo

A doctor and public health policy analyst, Dr O. Adesina, have lamented the growing presence of refuse on road medians and partitions, as concerns mount over environmental sanitation and enforcement of regulations across major roads.

Adesina, who raised the concern in a commentary, said the situation reflected what he described as the “anyhowness” of the Seyi Makinde administration.

According to him, the environmental challenges extend beyond indiscriminate refuse dumping to include street parking, street trading, inadequate street lighting and what he described as the weakening of enforcement of basic environmental regulations.

Adesina said residents had endured the situation for several years, adding that the condition of some major roads had become a disturbing representation of the level of environmental disorder in the state.

Recalling the enforcement of environmental laws around 2017, he said a cousin of his was arrested and spent several days at Agodi Prison for indiscriminate refuse dumping, noting that the offence occurred on an inner street rather than a major highway.

He said there was then a functioning mobile court system that dealt swiftly with environmental offences, imposed fines and, where applicable, kept offenders in custody until their fines were paid.

While acknowledging that some people criticised such measures as “policy without a human face,” Adesina questioned whether a society could maintain order when laws were not consistently enforced.

He said compassion for citizens was important, but accountability was equally necessary, stressing that indiscriminate dumping could not be curbed if it was tolerated, just as street trading and illegal parking could not be controlled without enforcement.

“The real question is not whether the government should have a human face. It is whether the government can be both humane and firm enough to protect the collective interest,” he said.

Adesina called for consistent and fair enforcement of environmental laws, saying this would be necessary to achieve cleaner, safer and better-organised cities across Oyo State.