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Nigeria: Calabar - Why so Clean?
Posted by: Guest Author on November 28, 2007 Under: Discussion Lounge, Life & Culture, People, Travel
Muti This
 Calabar: Rubbish bins are everywhere. Photo: David Hecht/IRIN. |
.Of the many towns and cities on the African continent, Calabar must be one of the cleanest.
“We are proud of the environment in which we live,” said Helen Ewar, a student at the local university. “It is part of our identity.”
She and other people gave a cultural explanation for their high level of hygiene. “Cleaning is not seen as an activity that is beneath us Efek people,” Ewar said, referring to the majority ethnic group in the city.
There are few other explanations. “We don’t spend a lot of money on sanitation,” said Elegance Edim, Executive Secretary of the Calabar Urban Development Association (CUDA) the agency charged with keeping clean this city of 800,000 people.
Neighbouring states in the Niger Delta where cities are far dirtier have bloated budgets from state oil revenue while the budget in Calabar’s Cross River state government is relatively small. It allocates 12 million naira [US $102,209] a year for sanitation in Calabar, Edim said, which includes programs to plant trees and grass in the city and raising awareness on the environment with ‘Keep Calabar beautiful’ signs everywhere in the city.
Elegance Edim, Executive Secretary of the Calabar Urban Development Association (CUDA)
“We are painfully short of resources and we have huge challenges with one of Africa’s heaviest rainfalls clogging up our storm drains,” he said.
But somehow the system works. Not only does the city look cleaner than most others in Nigeria, but it is also more hygienic. While cholera is common in nearby cities, Edim said it has not occurred in Calabar for years. Other water-borne diseases are also comparatively rare.
The former colonial power had done little to develop Calabar. “It was an important port town for slaving and trade but the British never built a proper water and sewage system here and back then it was actually quite dirty,” Edim said.
“What we have now was built after independence,” he said. “We still don’t have a lot but we try to use what we have wisely,” he said of the Cross River state government, which has a reputation for providing other basic services efficiently.
One resource that is abundant in Calabar is people, Edim said. “Women eager to earn a little cash are willing to take a few hours in the early morning cleaning the streets before going home to get their children ready for school,” he said.
Some 823 women are employed to sweep the city’s streets for three hours a day earning around 7,000 naira ($60) a month.
The city also employs around 700 men to clean storm drains, prune trees, cut grass and collect refuge. Litter bins are on almost every corner.
Currently there are only seven garbage trucks which is grossly inadequate, Edim said. “But we keep them well maintained and they’re in the streets every day.”
The biggest problem, like in most African cities, he says, is that Calabar lacks a proper landfill. “We have a place where we dump rubbish but it just gets bigger and bigger and we are worried that it could pollute the water table,” he said.
The city does have 69 health officials who make sure private septic tanks are working properly. The officials are also on the look out for illegal dumping.
The city also has two ‘environmental and sanitation courts’ which strictly enforce laws on dumping and unsanitary housing. “We have two courts to make sure there is no backlog,” Edim said.
But Calabar is not a police state, Edim insists. “We do not punish people for minor littering offences.”
“Rather, we have a culture of cleanliness in which anyone can ask a person who dropped something to pick it up,” he said.
Source: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=75442
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Meanwhile life isn’t so rosy in the northern city of Kano, a city that is in sharp contrast to Calabar…this Nigeria’s commercial capital in the north is, IRIN writes, is “creating more refuse than it can handle.” Read in full.
Misi | Nov 28, 2007 | Reply
This is fantastic news. I am so happy to hear a State has taken the initiative to react to illegal disposal of litter. Keep it up Calabar. I wonder if Lagos can copy this, maybe that will stop all the swimming pools during raining season and hopefully will terminate - traffic caused by roadways by illegal trash dumping, blocked gutters and reduce mosquitoes.
Omotaylor | Nov 28, 2007 | Reply
Calabar has always taken pride in having a peaceful, clean and colourful environment which would attract tourist, just like Badagry (dont know how clean Badagry is now, but in those days, very clean). I remember my so many visits with my dad to Calabar and other sorrounding towns e.g. Itu. So fresh and serene. I am glad they have kept this up and possibly improved on this. To the Obong, Governor and people of the state I say well done. I can see Governor Fashola paying a quick visit to Calabar to see for himself. Fashola does want to turn Lagos around and I wish him well in this. Just carry on Gov Fash and dont tire.
I AM PROUD WHEN NIGERIA IS PROUD.
Omotaylor | Nov 28, 2007 | Reply
Oh by the way, good write up. The post also states many solutions to the problem of dirty towns and states how Calabar has managed to have a success story.
D-Tee | Nov 28, 2007 | Reply
The story on Calabar and Kano makes me wonder if the various components of the Nigerian public sector appreciate the need to identify successful interventions and policies and learn from each other. Human waste is a major problem in any society, particularly one that seems to have cultural indifference to faulty refuse disposal systems. If Calabar has found a way to mount an efficient garbage disposal system with their limited resources, I wonder why Kano hasn’t deemed it necessary to visit and learn a lesson or two from them. This is what bring about progress, right?
pammy | Nov 28, 2007 | Reply
I think this is great!!
Omotaylor | Nov 29, 2007 | Reply
I believe the cultural orientation of people in some communities also determine their disposition to cleanliness and hygiene. I lived in Kano for four years in the 80s and to be honest, the generality of the people seem to find it okay to eat food infested with flies, use pit toilets infested with cockcroaches, pee just about anywhere and openly spit anywhere, even when you are eating. There is wide gap between the rich and the poor and their living STANDARDS. This also applies to people with “Isale Eko” mentality in Lagos. A man was commenting jokingly on what he missed about Nigeria and I could not beleive it when he said he missed eating in “bukas” sorrounded by flies (yuck). This man has lived in London for well over 15 years but still thinks this way. RE-EDUCATING the masses on hygiene and cleanliness i beleive should promoted, in addition to the state Government looking into better sanitation and waste management. This will bring progress as well.
Aniah, E. J. & Obong, L. B. | Jan 10, 2008 | Reply
Waste disposal is a major aspect in environmental preservation for healthy living. If neglected or overlooked, it will constitute a nuisance and force people to leave rather than live in a city and ultimately leading to environmental disaster.
This paper is focused on the challenges of waste disposal in a secondary city: using Calabar Metropolis as a case study. Data for the study were gathered from field observations and semi-structured interviews (SSI) and reviewed literature of journals, periodicals and other published articles. Findings revealed among others that two major public sectors currently collaborate in this venture to collate, collect and dispose waste in the metropolis; that although the city is noted nationwide as the cleanest in terms of waste disposal, there are still pockets of the city that are still lagging behind; that insufficient bins and flash points, insufficient transport trucks, bad road network in some parts of the city, irregular collection and evacuation of waste materials and lack of funds are nagging challenges in the business of waste disposal.
The authors therefore recommend that the government should grade and tar roads for easy access by trucks, develop a comprehensive taxing system that will make all stakeholders in waste generation to pay for the services of collection and disposal, create more flash points and provide more bins, encourage private agencies to partner in waste disposal, create awareness on waste disposal, institute a body to monitor and punish defaulters who fail to comply with regulations, and provide funds for appropriate agencies for prompt and effective waste disposal in the metropolis. With this in place, the environment will be preserved for posterity.
© Aniah, E. J. & Obong, L. B. Jan. 10, 2008, University of Calabar, Nigeria
CareTaker | Jan 10, 2008 | Reply
Thanks for the input Messrs Aniah & Obong. Is the details of this study available on the Internet?
Some ideas/areas your conclusions did not address:
What is your view of generating electrical power from biomass/refuse and its relevance to Nigerian scenario? India has done this very successfully.
How about recycling, is this of any relevance? The concept has started in large cities like Lagos, but it can be and should be promoted more given it’s a revenue earner.
linus obong | Jan 11, 2008 | Reply
Calabar is now a paragon of tourism with breath-taking sites like the Obudu Cattle Ranch Resort ()OCRR, the Marina Tourism Resort (MTR)etc. You just have to give yourelf a treat in these sites!
Omotaylor | Jan 11, 2008 | Reply
@Linus Obong, Me likes Calabar and proud that my dad named me Arit. But for me to feel very proud of my other names associated with the South West could you give an idea about the relevance of the recycling and how it could really help for example, Lagos
Linus | Jan 12, 2008 | Reply
is Lagos embarking on the project of recycling or a plan on pipeline that you seek for the relevance of the recycling and how it could really help?
Omotaylor | Jan 12, 2008 | Reply
Well, Lagos is one of the many other cities that has a lot of “waste” that could be converted energy using the bio-tech. This idea is being proposed but we dont know if there is a model city in Nigeria that has embraced this tech and hence I asked to check if Calabar is doing same so that we can do an analysis and research, to enable us promote this tech further and push harder for it. By we, I mean me and some friends who have seen the demonstrations on CD and wish to push for this in Lagos or some other states.
linus | Feb 6, 2008 | Reply
Omotaylor i will like to know you
Omotaylor | Feb 6, 2008 | Reply
Hi Linus, check me out on the community pages and you can e-mail me, that should set the ball rolling. You will need to join the Community group to do this. If not you can e-mail me via Caretaker and I promise to respond. I will be out of town for three weeks so if I dont respond quick dont worry, I will. Hope to browse while abroad, NEPA willing.
Omotaylor | Feb 6, 2008 | Reply
@Linus again; actually you can contact me by email via the authors page on this site. Check me out as K-A-T and click on the e-mail link. This should be easier.
Linus Beba Obong | Apr 14, 2008 | Reply
Omotaylor, how you dey?
I expected a mail from you all the while. We have a conference of Association of Nigerian Geograhpers comming up in August on ” Geography and the Melinium Development Goals (MDGs): Translating Vision into Reality in Nigeria”. You may send in papers that center on the theme to my e-mail or ang.ang.grpunical@yahoo.com.
Thanks
Omotaylor | Apr 16, 2008 | Reply
Sorry LBO i havent beeen around. will chech this out and if I can make an input, I will.
Regards
tess | May 1, 2008 | Reply
yes, i agree calabar is clean place, my husband is assigned in calabar ive been there once and im coming back with my four children to stay in calabar,good environment,nice place to live also,it is indeed a tourist spot destination. KEEP IT UP!
Linus Beba Obong | Nov 24, 2008 | Reply
I have developed a concept in my book Understanding the Environment: Concepts, Principles and applications and desire constructive contributions to it. The concept is Milieuculture. Full notes on it shall be posted later.
Linus B. Obong.
Effiong Solomon Obong | Mar 6, 2009 | Reply
The saying of Calabar being clean is not new, considering the principle of its inhabitant whom are mostly the Efiks,Quas,etc. From inception the Efiks where the closest to the so-call white(colonial masters),of which the pride theirselves with the saying “Efik edi Mmakara”. This has been closely fought for to keep and maintained in every facet of their lives within the enviroment and dealings with people and has been passed down to this present generation. Really, i think Calabar being Clean and noted for it, is all what the people in it are, its their culture and value. Abeg, CALABAR, YOU RAE TOO MUCH in spite of the limited resources. Keep it up.