By some random sampling technique it was estimated that over 4,000 empty sachets of “pure water” were dropped rudely and without any compunction in the streets of Port Harcourt, daily. That finding of a study done in August 2017, despite possible flaws, may be an under-estimation, but there would be no doubt that littering is an impure habit. One of the key indicators of gross under-development of a nation and the measure of the degree of personal maturity of its citizens, is the habit of littering, especially in public places. Nigeria as a nation scores quite low in regards to the habit of dropping of almost everything carelessly everywhere.
Human behavioural patterns can be classified into two categories, namely: off-stage behavior, and on-stage behavior. Off-stage behavior refers to what an individual can do in privacy, while on-stage behavior refers to what one does in public places, with several eyes on the watch. There is no doubt that what anyone does in public demands some decorum and acceptable standards, while in privacy one has some license and freedom. It is likely that behavioural patterns of individuals in private life can be carried over and exhibited unconsciously in public places.
We often find some people, including highly placed ones, picking their nose, teeth or biting their finger nails in places of gathering, forgetting to take into consideration the fact that they are in public places. With regards to the littering habit it is likely that such care-free behavior is a carry-over from the private life of individuals. The littering habit goes beyond throwing away empty satchets of pure water, hawked about in the streets. Those who smoke cigarettes in public places often throw the end on the ground or out into the street. There have been cases where such careless disposal of the remnant of cigarettes caused fire outbreak or other forms of danger.
Late-night-crawlers who eat packaged foods in the streets usually throw the empty pack into the gutter without any compunction. From house-hold refuse to water-proof plastic wrappings and from cow dungs to human excrement, most Nigerians have this bad habit of throwing discarded things about carelessly. Once an individual allows a habit to become a compulsive behavior or propensity, then it becomes more difficult to break it. In many cases such habits and propensities turn out to break and destroy those who indulge in them.
The Environmental Sanitation Authority and other agencies have done much to make Nigerians imbibe the habit of responsible disposal of wastes, but old habits rarely change easily. What is quite sad in the littering habit is that our streets and roads look untidy and gutters and drainages get blocked, resulting in the flooding of urban towns and other health hazards. There have been several jingles on radio and television stations advising people to dispose refuse and wastes properly rather than litter the streets, but do we see any change yet? Must there be stiffer penalties before people change?
Problem of refuse disposal in Nigeria appears to defy solution, largely because of impure habits of Nigerians, not exclusively the “agbero” class alone. Even in university campuses where attempts have been made to change the littering habit, the result has not been impressive. It is shocking to observe the nature of wastes generated in the campuses; even female and higher degree students can afford to throw away sanitary pads carelessly, without any feeling of shame.
It is important to emphasise the fact that littering is a nasty and impure habit, usually cultivated in the homes and exhibited outside the home in an unconscious manner. In the case of pure water satchets and bottles, the proliferation of the business of packaging pure water accounts for the increase in what we find in our streets. With recession and the attendant results of job losses, many people went into the business of packaging portable water which has a ready market. What is worrisome about the water business is that the so-called “pure water” is rarely pure as purported. Once a NAFDAC certification has been obtained, what happens thereafter is a different story. Neither can people do without water, which politicians often promise but rarely provide.
What we can do is to continue to appeal to the conscience of Nigerians – drinkers of water, producers of pure water, promisers of political water and the “agbero” people who litter our streets – to imbibe some sense of decency and personal hygiene. It is a mark of gross under-development to injure collective humanity through care-free attitude such as blocking drainages through throwing pure water satchets about.
Dr. Amirize is a retired lecturer, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.

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