Lagos moves to end environmental violations through voluntary compliance

The initiative, organised through the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), popularly known as Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), brought together representatives of market associations, Community Development Committees (CDCs), environmental health officials and other key stakeholders to strengthen collaboration in addressing environmental sanitation challenges.

Speaking at the stakeholder engagement meeting held on Tuesday, in Oshodi, the Chairman of LAGESC, Olaniyi Olatunbosun, said maintaining a clean, safe and healthy Lagos required more than enforcement, stressing that environmental order could only be sustained through the collective cooperation of residents, institutions and community leaders.

According to him, the engagement was designed to encourage stakeholders to take greater responsibility for reducing environmental infractions within their communities while promoting a culture of voluntary compliance with sanitation regulations.

Olatunbosun said market leaders have an important responsibility to maintain environmental order within marketplaces, while transport unions should encourage their members to comply with sanitation laws and responsible environmental practices.

He added that traditional institutions and community leaders also have significant roles to play by using their influence to promote environmental responsibility among residents.

He urged Lagos residents not only to report environmental violations but also to avoid committing such offences themselves.

“Residents must report environmental infractions, and more importantly, must refrain from creating those infractions themselves.

“The media also has an important role to play in educating the public, correcting misinformation and highlighting both the responsibility of citizens and the interventions of government,” he said.

The LAGESC chairman emphasised that environmental sanitation should be viewed as a shared responsibility rather than an obligation belonging solely to government agencies.

He explained that the stakeholder meeting was not organised merely to communicate government policies or enforcement directives but to create an avenue for dialogue, consultation and the exchange of practical ideas capable of improving environmental sanitation across Lagos.

According to Olatunbosun, stronger cooperation between enforcement agencies and communities would help reduce sanitation violations and encourage residents to embrace voluntary compliance as a civic responsibility.

He also invited stakeholders to contribute constructive criticism and recommendations that could assist the government in improving its environmental sanitation strategies and strengthening relationships between communities and enforcement authorities.

Meanwhile, Olatunbosun disclosed that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had approved additional recruitment slots for LAGESC to improve the agency’s operational capacity across the state.

He said the planned recruitment would increase the number of personnel available for deployment at the grassroots and enable the corps to expand its presence in communities across Lagos.

“The governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has approved and given us some slots to recruit.

“So very soon, the recruitment will be done, and we’ll be able to cover as much as we can,” Olatunbosun said.

The stakeholder engagement forms part of the state’s continuing efforts to deepen public participation in environmental sanitation and build stronger partnerships with communities, markets and transport operators in maintaining a cleaner and more orderly Lagos.