It is really pitiful that most of the people that we see around us throw litter in the streets, instead of using a dustbin.
Being clean is a sign of spiritual purity or goodness as in - don’t forget to wash your ears - “cleanliness is next to godliness”, they say.
This phrase was first recorded in a sermon by John Wesley in 1778, but the idea is ancient, found in Babylonian and Hebrew religious tracts.
It is still invoked, often as an admonition to wash or clean up.
As we witness yet another rainy season, it is important that people take greater care of their environment so as to live a healthy life.
Usually, it is during the rainy season that a high rate of malaria is prevalent, due to mosquito infestation in our envioroment.
That is why all should make it a point of duty to ensure that their various communities and localities are constantly cleaned up, so as to prevent mosquitoes from settling in dirty water or grasses around our homes and houses.
Unfortunately, many people do not take care of the environment they live in, and would throw any dirt anyhow and anywhere, without bearing in mind that such action may be harmful to the lives of those living around that area.
In general, people should try to change their attitude regarding waste control and management, and must avoid indiscriminate waste dumping and littering.
In this regard, we want to urge the National Environment Agency to make it a point of duty in sensitizing the general public about the Anti-Littering Law.
Quite often, one sees things being thrown onto the cleaned streets by people in moving vehicles, for example.
Or the way refuse is dumped by shopkeepers, tailors, street vendors and sellers of food and many others who do business on the pavement or sidewalks.
Thus, in our view, this new law must also be enforced vigorously, and we believe this is the duty of the NEA inspectors, public health inspectors, the police and municipal police, among others.
As the old saying goes, a healthy nation is a wealthy nation.
“I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security”
Robert Redford