Sanwo-Olu Reportedly Asks LAWMA Boss to Resign, and Lagosians Say the Real Rubbish Is Still on Our Street

Good news: someone is finally being cleared out. Bad news: it is not the pile of refuse by the bus stop.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has reportedly asked the head of LAWMA, the Lagos Waste Management Authority, to resign. Reportedly, o. Please note the word. In Nigerian journalism, “reportedly” is the legal shield that lets us say anything and pray nobody calls.

Now, let us pause and appreciate the irony. This is the same agency whose work you can see every morning. The truck comes, the truck goes, and the bin stays. At some point, the pile near your street became a landmark. People now give directions with it. “Turn left after the heap, and if you see the second heap, you have gone too far.”

Take Mama Tolani, a woman I invented but whom you definitely know. She sells roasted corn near the junction and has a very honest relationship with the refuse next to her stall. She says, “The pile and I have grown old together.” Last week, a man came with a camera, took pictures of the heap and left. She is still waiting for the follow-up, like a pregnancy of a very long duration.

Supporters of the move will say accountability is good, and they are right. When things go wrong, somebody must carry the blame, and the blame, as we know, is the only thing in Nigeria that is never in short supply. It is also the only item that gets cleared quickly.

Critics will say that resignation alone does not remove a single bag of waste. That is also true. You can change the person at the top, but the smell does not read memos. It is not impressed by a new title or a fresh press release. It simply sits there, ripening, with all the confidence of a landlord.

Meanwhile, the average Lagosian has developed advanced skills. We know the day the truck comes by the sound of the horn. We know which neighbour dumps in the dead of night. We have learned to hold our breath for exactly the length of a danfo ride past the heap. Some people have even claimed this as cardio.

And let us not forget the cleanliness slogans on the walls, written boldly and beautifully, right behind the heap they are meant to prevent.

Anyway, we wish everyone well in this new chapter. May the next person pick up the refuse, may the trucks arrive before the flies get comfortable, and may the street finally be cleaner than the press release.