We are ladened with a lot of challenges in Nigeria and it has become almost impossible for a day to slip by without complaining about our failures as a nation. One problem that we seem to consider insignificant is dirtiness. Can we have a clean Nigeria? What are our roles as citizens towards a cleaner society?

I got down from a vehicle one day and just as I alighted, I saw a young lady also getting down from a car parked in front of us. As she got down, I thought a bag of empty bottles and take-away packs fell out of the car, so I expected her to pick it up and put it back in the car. It turned out that I thought wrong. The bag was actually thrown out on the sidewalk and the car drove off. I wasn’t the only one disgusted by the sight.

When we blame our leaders for a bad country, we should also check ourselves to see how we contribute to the mess we are in.

 Why do we, Nigerians, find it so difficult to hold on to our trash until we find a bin to dispose them?

How do we feel comfortable throwing empty cans and nylon bags out from side windows of vehicles in motion?

How come it’s so convenient for us to make heaps of rubbish in gutters and roadsides?

Our canals get blocked and flood takes over our houses and we blame the government for not doing their job.

If we cannot assuage the condition of the country, can we at least try not to intensify the problem?

Dirtiness is fast becoming a part of our culture and we are relaxing into it. If someone tries to object, the response is “na me start am?” (It doesn’t start with me).  If it doesn’t start with you, can you at least make it end with you?

Keep your trash in your purse or pockets till you find a bin to put it. That’s being responsible.

Instead of throwing out rubbish from vehicles on the road, can we just drop them in the vehicle? At the end of the day, the car can be cleaned up properly.

Stop turning bad habits into the new normal in the society.

Let’s be decent. Let responsibility start with you. If you model decency, your children will learn from you. Teach them to hold on to their dirt till they find the right place to drop them. Together we can raise a better generation.

Discipline starts with YOU.

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