Kubwa, slum: Between 2013 and 2021 I was in Gwarimpa, a highbrow area in the Federal Capital City. Gwarimpa is rated as number 6 posh area such as places like Asokoro, Maitama, Wuse 2 ,Guzape and Katamkpe in order of 1 to 5.
But then all my days in Gwarimpa I would not allow those who cared to listen how much I liked 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 my self staying in Kubwa , a multi-purpose mixed used commercial suburb.
Kubwa comprises areas such as Federal Housing, Army Estate ,phase 1 up to phae 4 ,NNPC axis, NYSC camp axis as well as Arab Contractor axis as they are fondly called .
The “city” of Kubwa is where every corner is full of corner shops ,schools here and there, even though there are designated areas as markets
The detail above are not the reason for this piece.
The main gist is the indiscriminate dumping of refuse all around the “Kubwa City”
It is very hard to believe that federal civil servants and residents 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 them in another lonely street.
Their main depot for the God feaing among them are flowing river banks.
A flowing river, a natural gift from God runs through Kubwa, flowing from only God knows where.It could be seen from the Federal Housing axis down to the Phase 4 axis .
For many of us who are allergic to filthy environment, the issue of refuse dumps is a serious one in Kubwa.
The innocent river has lost it original value .
It has become a refuse dump. It now has no choice than to oose out offensive odour, creating an unhealthy atmospheric system.
While majority of the people seem to care less, it beats one’s imagination that a place such as Kubwa which houses most 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 to save Kubwa.
Maybe contracts need to given to private waste disposal companies which need to work round the clock to ensure a clean and decent environment for the people.
This action needs to be taken very fast as we all know, a healthy work force is a productive work force.
The” Bolla 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 .
Yusufrashidat12@gmail.com.
