Visionscape and The Sons of the Belly

They announced their presence with the sound of clanging metals and shovels evacuating waste from the ground. It was a little past eleven at night and they had come to clear the mounds of garbage that had dotted the landscape in my community. It was Visionscape, the waste collection company that had recently been contracted to get rid of the filth in Lagos by the Ambode-led administration. They cleared the litter alright. We could heave a sigh of relief and walk around without having to cover our noses in a futile attempt to avoid inhaling the putrid stench that had become complimentary to living or visiting the area. But our respite was short lived. Before long the scantily distributed “Cleaner Lagos” waste bins were filled and overflowing again and we were back to the unsavoury smell of refuse.

In recent months, Lagosians have complained about the unsightly state of their surroundings owing to uncleared refuse. Since the private waste collectors who operated under the Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA was ousted, there has been a huge gap in the Lagos waste disposal system.

Visionscape was supposed to be the world-class comprehensive waste management solution. The revolution when it came to clearing, sorting and recycling refuse. According to Governor Ambode, it was meant to be the effective refuse disposal system under the Cleaner Lagos Initiative, but so far, this hasn’t been the case.

As Lagos residents continued to point out the eyesore that has now become synonymous with the cosmopolitan city, the government continued to reiterate its belief that Visionscape was doing its best to rid the state of dirt. If this recurrent response wasn’t so befuddling and annoying, it would have been amusing.

First of all, it is unclear why the Lagos State administration chose to terminate its dealings with the private sector operators. While they had their lapses, residents still had their filled bins disposed of regularly and the environs were far cleaner than what obtains presently.

Lagos was not dirty when LAWMA was in charge. One only needed to commute around the metropolis to witness what the hardworking men and women in orange jumpsuits were doing to maintain cleanliness on the roads. It was evident for all to see.

And even though there were areas where much was still left to be desired as regards hitch-free coordination of the private operators and issues with payment remittance, the government of the day could have met with the relevant stakeholders and waste management professionals to map out a strategy to solve those issues rather than jettison an arrangement that was largely working.

However, even though residents complained, they would have had little choice but to believe that soon enough, Visionscape would get its acts right and the huge heaps of garbage around their environs would become a thing of the past. But, the events of last Saturday made it evident that the proponents of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative are more interested in selling a propaganda rather than get to the business of actually making Lagos clean.

On Saturday morning, pictures began to surface on Twitter. They were shots of certain parts of Lagos. The picturesque images of some major roads had been taken with the best phone cameras available (many believe it to be an iPhone X) or a state-of-the-art camera. The crisp and clear images were reminiscent of the modern-day wedding photos. And if one didn’t look closely enough at first, one would mistake the Lagos city shots for those of some exotic place abroad.

The streets captured and tweeted by some social media influencers were released to debunk the notion that Lagos is currently one of the dirtiest states in Nigeria. Pictures showing places like Clay bus-stop in the Oregun industrial area, Alausa and Third Mainland bride among others were displayed as proof that Visionscape was indeed delivering on its mandate to transform Lagos into a mini London. What’s more, these sons of the belly (and I use the term “sons” as a generic term for males and females) all claimed they had personally taken the pictures, when it was obvious all the images were products of the same camera.

Apparently, some of the youths who have a large following on Twitter had been given the mandate to sway public opinion, (especially among those in the virtual community) their way by simultaneously attesting to how clean Lagos is. And what better way to prove this than by sharing pictorial evidence of their “personal journeys” through the city. Only that none of them actually bothered to take a picture of themselves while on their self-confessed random drive-bys.

It was also interesting to note that none of these influencers thought to visit densely populated areas like Iyana-Ipaja, Mushin, Surulere, Ojota and Ajegunle. Major suburbs that would have registered with their audience as far more authentic. They couldn’t have. Their mission was founded on propaganda and a venture into these parts of the state would have exposed them for what they were. Frauds!

The most saddening thing about young people accepting to push a narrative of blatant falsehood is that these sons of the belly are the same ones who decry the corruption the older generation is often derided for. You’ll find them at the forefront of the “fight” for young people to be allowed to run for office. They swear that things would get better, that Nigeria will experience a turnaround if only youths are given a level playing field in their quest to run for office, yet they trade their conscience for a morsel of bread. They are not ashamed to proclaim clean what everyone can clearly see to be filth.

This development just lent credence to the argument of those who insist Nigerian youths are not ready to take up the mantle of leadership. It’s hard to debate against this now. Even some of the most vocal critics of the government on social media were compromised just because they couldn’t resist the temptation of receiving a few wads of naira.

We saw it happen in 2015, and as 2019 approaches, it’s safe to assume that there will be little surprises at the polls once again.

Old, tired “leaders” who are bereft of ideas on how to move Nigeria will be voted in once again because the sons of the belly will exchange their votes for bags of rice and vegetable oil.

And the cycle goes on once again. Shame…

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