BY REV FR GERALD NWAFOR
It has been raining for over a week now, and the mayhem caused by the flood is visible to the blind and audible to the deaf. But the behavior of most of us did not correspond to the imminent and present danger. Why should people still dump refuse into the sewage system in the name of being smart? Socially, it was wrong and a crime. Morally, it is a sin against humanity and nature. When you dump the trash into the gutter, there are multiple bad effects. It can block the sewage, and the community will experience flood disasters.
On the other hand, it can end up in the next compound when the rain stops, and the neighbor will have the onerous task of dealing with garbage, which he knows nothing about. Thirdly, it could litter the streets and the roads, destroying the aesthetic appearance of the city.
Therefore, it was never an option to dispose of your trash into the sewage system by any means possible. Furthermore, it is morally wrong since the government has warned against it, and we believe that all power belongs to God.
The governor has the mandate of the people; he will not be in the office forever, which is why his word is a bond (binding and effective). If everyone starts disobeying the government, it will be a chaotic situation, and life will be short, brutish, and nasty. Therefore, it is a sin to disobey the laws of the state, especially a just government, created for the welfare of the community. The rain has not ended; it will be here with us till October. We can change our attitude to help one another and our environment.
Man can control nature, but not for too long if the behavior of man is contrary. The local axiom states: “The more you wage the flood, the stronger it becomes” (Egboka ide ona awa). You do not wage against the flood water; rather, give it an exit way so that it will find its home in the rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans. If we continue to engage in disrupting the movement by blocking the little sewage systems, more damage will be caused, and more houses will collapse. The government has not done enough to create drainage and gutters around towns and cities in the state.
Governments may argue that they are busy with other projects, but I think that the danger posed by the floods in both rural and urban areas is something we cannot overlook. The rural areas are engulfed with massive erosion and gullies created by the flood waters. The urban areas are in dire need of drainage systems that work.The fact that we live in a natural environment does not mean we will be careless about nature. I have watched our streams drying up because high-rise buildings are blocking the feeders. We are watching our forests disappear because the government wants to make quick money. One forest that disappeared in front of me was the Akpaka forest.
I appreciate the buildings and the development of infrastructure, but the amount of oxygen taken away from the state cannot be quantified because the government did not want to know the ecological effect of the forest being destroyed.
In 2019, the world raised an alarm when the Amazon forest in Brazil was on fire. The international community came together to stop the fire because the forest contributes 20% of the world’s oxygen. But here we are destroying our forest in the quest to make illicit money. I have lived near the forest for six years. There was only one forest ranger guarding almost 14 square miles. He has no guns or anything to protect himself or the forest. People came into the forest to chop down trees for timber. They gave him a little bribe if they wanted to, but most of the time, they would intimidate him and cut down the trees freely. The effect is not yet known because the natural state of our land still takes care of many things for us, but for how long?
If you sleep near the forest reserve and wake up in the morning, you can smell the freshness that comes with nature. The oxygen from the trees will fill the atmosphere, and your body will be fully rejuvenated.
The government should send more people to protect our forests and wild bushes, unless it is too late. I remember my father telling me how they used to see elephants and lions in the Anam forest, but all the forest in that part of the state has been consumed, and the wildlife is gone too. Who knew what happened to the elephants, pythons, and wild cats? They could have run away or ended up in the stomach of the villagers. That is all the more reason why the government should get involved in preserving our natural environment. If we kill the environment, we will be the first to go. We need the natural environment more than the environment needs us.
Science has proved that we need nature to survive, but nature doesn’t need humans to survive. If you drop a nuclear bomb in a place, it will take nature 500 years to regenerate, but humans may never regenerate. Therefore, we should handle nature more carefully.Finally, I do not call out to the government only, I beckon to the citizens too to help preserve nature and the environment. We must keep the environment clean in the first instance by not dropping the empty bottles and plastics along the road or street corners. I encourage the government to publicize it properly so that those drinking pure water should not drop the empty plastic sachet along the road.
The amount of empty plastic along the roads and inside the sewage system nearly put me into the temptation of asking the government to ban pure water production. On the other hand, it is a business worth billions, and has saved the poor masses from economic crunch. But why can’t we dispose of the sachet properly? We need good orientation to help us dispose of our waste properly. The government should provide the necessary help to dispose of our waste. The government of Ghana has put up a good fight against waste management, and they are winning. Why can’t we borrow from Ghana? Some countries make money from waste management because one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
The government can start by building a location for all the waste in Anambra to be assembled and managed properly. Who knows if they will listen since it’s time for the campaign, election, we will revisit the topic again.
