Does Lagos smell? Be the judge

FIJ

Conversations around Lagos State’s olfactory nightmare trended between Sunday and Tuesday, with many dismissing the claims of the noses that complained about the issue, but evidence on the ground and in the air tells a different story.

From the stagnant water due to bad drainage systems at Mushin, the dumpsite between 7up and Ojota, and the foul odour around Lagos State University, the persistent smell problem is impossible to ignore.

In Okokomaiko, residents navigate filth as if it were normal, traders sell food beside rotting garbage, and passers-by are forced to inhale air thick with sewage and decaying smells. The stench, a resident said, is a glaring sign of failed urban management.

Seun Sanni, a serving corps member, told FIJ Okokomaiko smells every time due to a poor waste management system and a lack of government enforcement around the area.

“I have never seen a LAWMA vehicle in my three years at Okokomaiko,” Sanni told FIJ.

“But I see people openly defecate and pour their dirt on the main road. People around that area need to be punished for caring less about the environment.”

FIJ observed that open defecation is the order of the day on some parts of the untarred road from Okokomaiko to Mile 2. A walk on the BRT lane in these areas makes the smell more pronounced. Accompanying the piles of dirt and faecal matter on this part of the road are the heaps of rubbish and collection centres for empty plastic bottles, which worsen the smell in these areas.

Another smelly area captured for its pile of debris is Lanre Hassan Street in the Egbeda Area of Alimosho Local Government Area. On one side of the road, there is a pile of dirt with LAWMA vehicles where an offensive smell oozes out. On the other side, there is a huge pile of dirt removed from the road.

A grocer in the area told FIJ the area stinks because of the dump site at Lanre and the gutter in the area. He explained that the odour is unbearable when it rains but people manage it.

“I have to stay here to survive, so I am used to the smell. What makes the smell worse is the gutter here. It gets filled to the brim when it rains and it would smell for days after the rain stops,” the grocer told FIJ.

At Agege, the smelly area is the surroundings of Lagos’ biggest slaughterhouse at the Idi-Oparun bus stop. FIJ captured flowing fluid and blood coming out of the slaughterhouse and headed for the canal in the area. The canal is covered with dirt and faeces. Beside it is a ranch.

The smell of the side of the road before the traffic light at Ikeja is also concerning. The stench of urine mostly released by homeless people beside the bridge on that side of the road is unbearable.

FIJ called Tokunbo Philip Wahab, Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, but he did not answer the phone. He had not responded to a text FIJ sent to him at press time.

A simple search on X shows that many agree that Lagos smells and that the areas highlighted by FIJ are smelly. However, there is more. The larger picture is a silent environmental crisis in Nigeria’s economic centre.