FOR A CLEANER, HEALTHIER LAGOS

The state enforces discipline to realise a cleaner Lagos, argues

TUNDE AJAYI

Lagos is fighting for her environment. According to a recent report, 17 residents of the state were arraigned and fined N40,000 each for open defecation and urination, with the option of one month imprisonment if they refused to pay. Some people have described the punishment as harsh but I think it’s a proactive move by the Lagos State government led by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

“These acts have never been acceptable, as they degrade public spaces and deface our megacity,” the Lagos State government said on its X account.

“The government remains resolute and will continue to clamp down on defaulters to ensure a cleaner, healthier Lagos for all.”

In another report, the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) stated that it recorded 1,023 illegal dumping and waste violations in 2025 alone, with 447 cases referred for prosecution. This happened in just one year. At that gross scale, it is not a “government problem.” That is a behavioural problem. It is therefore a positive development that the Lagos State government is attacking violators of the environment. Residents, developers, traders and cart pushers alike should know that the era of “anything goes” is over.

There is a particular kind of outrage Nigerians reserve for Lagos. If it rains, Lagos. If there is traffic, Lagos. If someone sneezes in Oshodi, it is somehow the governor’s fault. But when a government quietly rolls up its sleeves and decides that a megacity cannot coexist with open defecation and midnight dumping, some members of the public suddenly go quiet. Or go about making wild excuses that the government needs to build more public toilets.

Critics will say enforcement is the easy part. But enforcement in a city of Lagos’ scale is anything but easy. Midnight dumpers who operate between 12am and early morning hours according to LAWMA operatives cannot be described as cooperative citizens. Hence, as LAWMA intensifies its surveillance, arrests and hand over defaulters for prosecution and conviction, it should be commended. Consequences for those who litter and spoil Lagos is how culture changes and not by hashtags alone.

No serious mega city tolerates people turning public spaces into open toilets. Lagos, with over 20 million residents, cannot aspire to global-city status while battling habits that belong in the 19th century. A city that wants foreign investment, tourism, global conferences and tech hubs cannot simultaneously wink at environmental indiscipline. Clean streets are not cosmetic but are essentially economic infrastructure.

There is also a deeper economic logic at play. According to data, Lagos generates about 13,000 metric tonnes of waste daily. That’s a huge amount. And when refuse blocks drains, the result is flooding. When flooding hits, businesses shut down, properties are damaged, productivity drops, and the government spends billions on emergency response and reconstruction. Environmental indiscipline is therefore not merely untidy but also fiscally reckless. So when the state government clamps down on illegal dumping in drains, road medians and black spots, it is not just beautifying the city but protecting its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is also defending property values and safeguarding public health.

Also, Lagos has often featured poorly in global liveability rankings in the past. That narrative did not emerge from thin air. It came from congestion, waste management struggles, infrastructure deficits and governance gaps accumulated over decades. The current administration cannot erase history overnight. But it can refuse to continue it. A megacity comparable to Dubai, Singapore or London does not emerge by wishful thinking. It emerges from standards – stubborn, sometimes unpopular standards. It emerges from telling a well-dressed executive that littering from an SUV window is just as unacceptable as a cart pusher dumping refuse at midnight. It emerges from prosecuting environmental offences in open court so that deterrence becomes public knowledge.

And yes, the process of ensuring a cleaner Lagos will be noisy, controversial, and inconvenience people who are used to shortcuts. But every global city story contains a chapter where the government decided that chaos had overstayed its welcome. What is particularly encouraging is the multi-pronged approach of enforcement, prosecution, public sensitisation and systemic reforms being undertaken by the state government to curb the menace of filth. LAWMA’s 2025 surveillance statistics show not only arrests but reconciliation of properties with registered waste operators. Waste must be channelled through authorised PSP operators and informal systems such as patronising cart pushers are being squeezed out. We cannot romanticise disorder and demand global respect at the same time.

Lagos is Africa’s commercial heartbeat. But investors read signals. So do tourists. So do multinational headquarters scouting expansion destinations. A city that publicly enforces sanitation laws signals seriousness. A city that ignores environmental infractions signals fragility. Lagos cannot afford to be or to be seen as fragile. And the Sanwo-Olu administration seems to understand that a megacity is not built solely with flyovers and rail lines. It is built with norms about everyday life, including waste disposal and shared responsibility.

The uncomfortable truth is that mega cities are strict. They fine you for littering. They sanction environmental abuse. They close down violators. They prosecute offenders. They are unapologetic about it. That strictness is what keeps the cities going. In Singapore, chewing gum is frowned upon because of waste while spitting can earn an offender a fine of $1000. In Tokyo, littering is considered a heavy taboo and even kindergarten pupils do not litter. And in European cities like Rome and Berlin, illegal waste dumping is ‘heavily penalized to combat environmental degradation.’ If Lagos must sit confidently among other megacities, it cannot apologise for demanding basic civic discipline.

The narrative should therefore shift. Instead of asking why Lagos is arresting offenders, we should ask why, in 2026, open defecation and indiscriminate dumping are still occurring at all. Instead of lamenting fines, we should lament the behaviours that make fines necessary. Lagos does not need condemnation but participation. It needs residents who understand that civilisation is a collective project. The Lagos State government can deploy surveillance units and prosecutors, but culture shifts when citizens internalise the rules.

A megacity is not declared. Rather, it is enforced into existence. Recall that Lagos banned single use plastics including free nylon bags in supermarkets, in July 2025 as a move to tackle environmental pollution. It is great that Lagos appears serious about a cleaner environment. The state government’s repeated messaging is that cleanliness is a shared duty and a necessity. In a dense urban ecosystem, one person’s indiscipline can easily become another person’s health crisis. One clogged drain can quickly become an entire community’s flood. Excuses must not be made for violators of environmental offences. In the long run, Lagos and her residents stand to benefit from a cleaner environment. Cleaner streets reduce disease. Clearer drains reduce floods. Predictable enforcement increases investor confidence.

Sanwo-Olu’s environmental enforcement drive may not trend every day on social media, but its long-term impact could outlive many hashtags. It is definitely a bold step in the right direction. And perhaps, future liveability rankings will reflect a city that decided to grow up.

Ajayi writes from Lagos