Refuse has taken over the entrance of the popular Sabon Gari market in Kano despite 1,579 suspected cholera cases and 54 deaths that have been recorded in Nigeria recently.
Recall that two weeks ago Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf expressed disappointment over the poor performance of the State Refuse Management and Sanitation Board popularly known as REMASAB during an unscheduled visit to the agency.
Findings by our reporter indicated that as of Thursday last week the refuse dumped had almost taken over the two lanes of the dualized road, causing gridlock along France Road by the market area which is located in the Fagge Local Government Area.
On June 23, 2024, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), had in its update on cholera outbreak, revealed that Kano had recorded 13 suspected cases.
This ugly trend of indiscriminate dumping of refuse around the market area has also affected human and vehicular movement as well as businesses operating along the road.
Some traders within the market vicinity expressed concern on the way and manner the waste was being brought out from within the market and dumped by scavengers, popularly known as Mai Shara.
The traders alleged that the market management who ordered the evacuation of the refuse from the market was however dumped it by the roadside.
They said when they protested, the traders were told that the waste would be evacuated immediately but for over a week, the refuse has not been evacuated and as a result the refuse has continued to pile up daily.
A truck driver said, “The Managing Director of the market directed the workers to dump the refuse there, which is hindering us from getting our daily bread.”
Another truck driver added, “Honestly, the refuse brought out from the market is a source of concern to everybody in the environment.”
For Bashir Kwashe-kwashe, “This trash is depriving people of earning their daily income comfortably. And this happened as a result of the order given by the market’s MD that the trash should be brought out of the market.
“Immediately it was brought out; we knew this would happen, but we could not do anything about it, and it has gotten out of control. Now we want the State Governor, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf to please intervene so that the refuse can be cleared from the place.”
It was also observed that some local food outlets, popularly known as “Mama food” operating their businesses directly adjacent to the refuse dump site, is also a source of serious concern following the recent outbreak of cholera in some parts of the country.
As of the time of filing this report, people have continued to dump refuse at the areas while scavengers have also continued to troop to the dumpsite for scavenging.
Effort to contact the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Abubakar Rimi Market, Musbahu Abdullahi, failed as he was said to be out of town.
Similar effort to call his mobile phone was not successful. His secretary was also contacted on phone but did not respond or return calls put through him.
However, when contacted, Mukhtar Hassan, the Director of Operations, Refuse Management and Sanitation Board, said he was in the meeting and promised to call our reporter but did not do so.