Some Abuja residents have called for the reintroduction of periodic sanitation exercises to keep the territory clean and address hygiene challenges and environmental pollution.
The residents, who spoke in separate interviews in Abuja, said periodic sanitation exercises, if properly enforced, would significantly improve public health.
The residents wondered why the exercise, which they were already accustomed to and dedicated to carrying out as a collective effort to thoroughly clean their environment, was suspended in the first place.
The residents, therefore, called for the reintroduction of the monthly exercise in order to take ownership of their surroundings and improve the overall cleanliness of their environment.
The monthly sanitation exercise was introduced nationwide in 1984 during the military regime of Muhammadu Buhari.
The sanitation exercise was backed by a decree titled ‘War Against Indiscipline’, which restricted movements every last Saturday of the month, for three hours, for people to clean their environment.
Decades after Mr Buhari’s military rule, the monthly exercise progressively spread throughout states due to its significance in creating a clean and healthy environment and encouraging a sense of community responsibility.
The exercise, which was modified and redefined across states in implementation in the areas of date, duration, and strict enforcement, however, gradually declined in effectiveness and participation.
A few months after his appointment as FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike announced the decision of his administration to reintroduce monthly sanitation as part of the strategies to keep the city clean.
Specifically, on August 29, 2023, the minister stated that he had already briefed President Bola Tinubu on the idea of designating at least two Saturdays in a month for sanitation from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
He had explained that the move would enable companies supporting the FCT with logistics to go to market and other public places to evacuate refuse.
“We must all make sacrifices. There is nothing like ‘we are going to suffer’. You also contribute to refuse. So, if you spare three hours on a Saturday at home to clear the refuse and bring it out for us to evacuate and dispose of, then that is the little way you can help,” the minister had said.