Eking a living from the refuse heaps in Nigeria
By Onu Okorie
It sounds like a fiction, but it’s really happening. Less than a kilometer from the Nigeria’s federal capital territory fct, at Mararaba right in Nasarawa state you will encounter a heap of refuse, making lives uncomfortable for people living around the place.
But that’s not all. Another story about it is that every morning you will see adults gather around the refuse to pick whatever that’s pickable for survival.
Things that they look for in the mist of the refuse heaps including: a left over food stuff thrown into the refuse heaps, discarded household items, disposable vape, plastic bottles and pieces of iron. Some of them said that the items are sold to agents of owners of recycling plants in big cities like Lagos, Onitsha, Aba and Kano city.
It’s however, appalling that in the 21st century people can be found in such level of poverty. It would be recalled that the World Bank recently put the number of people living in poverty in Nigeria at 139 million. However, the Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, has applauded the economic reforms introduced by the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He said during the launch of the Nigeria Development Update NDU report in Abuja that the country’s economy has started to show signs of stability from ongoing reforms.
Speaking at o
