SANITATION IS NOT COSMETIC: OBIANNA ORIAKU MISFIRES ON ABIA’S ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSFORMATION

By Charles Thomas

Obinna Oriaku’s recent critique of Governor Alex Otti’s administration raises an important debate but ultimately arrives at a flawed conclusion.

To reduce the transformation of Abia’s sanitation ecosystem to mere “street sweeping” is not only inaccurate; it reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of what modern environmental governance entails.

Sanitation Is Not a Routine Function, It Is Foundational Development

Across the world, sanitation is not treated or seen as a cosmetic responsibility. It is the first layer of economic productivity, public health, and urban order. Before industries thrive, before investors arrive, before tourism grows, a city must first be clean, structured, and environmentally safe.

A city like Aba, once widely described as one of Nigeria’s dirtiest urban centers, has undergone a visible and measurable turnaround. This is not anecdotal, it is systemic.

The political will was shown on May 29th 2023 at the inauguration of Dr Alex Otti, following the declaration of a sanitation emergency, the government restructured the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency, equipped it with operational tools, and cleared staff salary arrears to boost productivity.

That intervention alone shifted sanitation from neglect to strategy. From Chaos to Coordinated Waste Management

Contrary to Hon Obinna Oriaku’s assertion, what is happening in Abia today is not just sweeping, it is a multi-layered waste management system.

For instance, under the leadership of ASEPA Aba Zone, with field coordination driven by experienced administrators like Elder Okezie Ezengwa the deputy general manage, the agency has:

1. Established structured waste collection cycles, reducing indiscriminate dumping
2. Improved refuse evacuation logistics, with compactors and operational vehicles
3. Introduced monitoring and compliance teams to enforce environmental laws
4. Driven public behavioral change campaigns, making sanitation a shared civic duty

These are not cosmetic interventions, they are governance reforms.

Evidence shows that residents now adhere more strictly to disposal practices, and refuse heaps that once dominated Aba’s commercial corridors have largely disappeared.

The Recycling Shift: Early but Strategic

One of the most overlooked aspects of ASEPA’s work, conveniently ignored in Oriaku’s critique is the gradual introduction of waste sorting and recycling culture, particularly around PET bottles and plastics.

At ASEPA yards in Aba, there are now organized collection, packaging, and aggregation efforts for recyclable waste streams. While still evolving, this marks a critical shift from the old “collect-and-dump” model to a value-chain approach to waste.

In environmental economics, this is the foundation of:

Circular economy systems
Waste-to-wealth initiatives
Job creation in recycling clusters

Dismissing this as “ordinary sanitation” is intellectually dishonest.

Enforcement and Cultural Reorientation

Sanitation reform is not just about trucks, it is about changing human behavior.

ASEPA’s enforcement teams have introduced compliance mechanisms that were previously absent or ineffective. Businesses and residents are now compelled to follow environmental standards, while public awareness campaigns have driven a new culture of responsibility.

This is why sanitation in Abia not just Aba today is sustainable, not episodic.

The Irony of Oriaku’s Position

Perhaps the most striking contradiction in Oriaku’s argument is moral.

He criticizes a sector, environmental management that failed woefully under the very administrations he was part of.

Historical records show that poor sanitation in Abia once triggered legislative concern and even leadership shake-ups within ASEPA due to inefficiency and failure to deliver.

At that time:

Refuse overwhelmed markets and streets
Waste disposal systems were largely ineffective
Environmental governance lacked coordination

To now dismiss measurable improvements in the same sector raises a legitimate question:
On what moral pedestal does he stand?

Giving Credit Where It Is Due

Good governance is not defined by absolutism. It is measured by sectoral progress. Even the harshest critic must concede that:

Abia is cleaner today than it has been in decades
Waste evacuation is more consistent
Environmental laws are being enforced
Sanitation workers are more structured and visible

These are not illusions, they are outcomes.

To deny them is to abandon objectivity.

The Bigger Truth

Yes, sanitation alone is not enough to define a government. That much is true.

But neither can sanitation be trivialized.

Because in cities like Aba where over 270 truckloads of waste can be generated daily effective waste management is not a side function; it is a critical pillar of urban survival and economic revival.

Obinna Oriaku is right to demand broader development. But he is wrong to dismiss environmental progress as insignificant.

Sanitation in Aba today is not “street sweeping.”
It is system rebuilding.
It is public health protection.
It is economic groundwork.

And most importantly, it is a sector where this government has succeeded where others including those Oriaku once worked with clearly failed.

Criticism is healthy.
But credibility matters.

And in this case, both fairness and facts demand one thing:

Give credit where it is due.