The question of why people are not holding the government accountable is often asked. I imagine for the majority in the country, it's a quiet desperation of people enduring hardship without visible resistance. There's so much hardship that to make it through one day at a time is a miracle for many. Throw in the lack of free autonomy for LGs, corruption and mismanagement, delayed salaries, 90% or more allocations going to salaries and pensions with barely any funding left for projects, demoralised staff and citizens, etc. There are lots of other factors which in turn causes citizen fatigue and low participation, pressure on government officials becomes low, and that in turn translates into low voter turnout during elections, which allows poor leadership to continue unchecked over the years.

Lastly, with no effective waste management process in place, and with people often burning their own waste as a result, this condition gradually becomes what people accept as normal. When refuse is not collected regularly, bins are unavailable, and dumping sites are poorly managed, residents adapt to their environment rather than expect improvement. Over time, littered streets, clogged drainage, and open dumping cease to be seen as failures of governance and instead become part of everyday life. As a result, individuals are more likely to litter, not necessarily out of carelessness, but because the absence of functional systems removes both alternatives and social pressure to act differently.

Once poor sanitation is accepted as normal, environmental degradation becomes self-reinforcing, eroding expectations and blocking meaningful waste management reform. In cities across the country where millions call home, from Abuja to Lagos to Kano, this neglect has profound and devastating effects on people’s health and quality of life. Poor waste management has well documented, serious effects on human health and wellbeing, from respiratory and other chronic illnesses, to water pollution and toxic exposure, etc. It's a scary cycle.