Aba is a unique place. A lot is going on there in an effort to clean up the city and ensure the populace have a befitting environment.
However, it is obvious (from the pictures below) that the residents and everyone associated with Aba has to do more to achieve set goals in sanitation and waste management.
The pictures are indeed self explanatory to say the least. Most streets and gutters in the city center, (to be patriotic), are at the risk of being overrun by litter. The shopping malls, markets and adjoining areas are obviously worse off with unbearable stench filling the air in these areas.
You will find fabric merchants and tailoring malls just next to these filled up gutters. It is still not clear to me how these traders and artisans are able to conduct their economic activities with such enviable enthusiasm considering that I found it almost impossible to breath in these places.
The immediate surrounding and vicinity of most of the higher education institutions I visited also left much to be desired. At Abia Poly, I was compelled by instincts to take pictures of the stair case area leading to the computer science laboratory. It was simply shameful to put it mildly.
There was a time when banks and filling stations ensured their immediate vicinity and adjoining surroundings were kept above par in terms of cleanliness but it's all changed in Aba. Even the sight of ASEPA trucks coming to cart away the overflowing skips automatically draws every observers hands to their noses.
But still, the truth must be told. Most people I spoke to told me "bros, ihe adila nma oo, ASEPA agbaliala" meaning "things are good now. ASEPA have tried". They explain how bad it used to be in the very recent past. To me, I understand the optimism but surely, the people deserve better!