NewStats: 3,259,454 , 8,170,162 topics. Date: Sunday, 25 May 2025 at 05:29 AM 2i6rm

I wholeheartedly believe in the power of indoctrination—when done right, it shapes habits that last a lifetime. Take, for example, the Keep Lagos Clean campaign launched by Governor Fashola in 2008. That initiative left such a deep impression on me that, to this day, I find it nearly impossible to litter. No matter how small the trash in my hand, I hold onto it until I find a bin—whether outside or at home. On rare occasions, I dispose of biodegradable waste like paper or edibles I snack on in gutters, but never plastic or anything non-degradable.

Now to the point of this rant: Why are Nigerians so frustratingly careless when it comes to waste disposal? It baffles me daily. I watch people wind down their car windows to fling entire plastic bottles onto the streets, gutters, and sidewalks without a second thought. Every time I step outside, I witness this behavior over and over again—so normalized that no one even bats an eye. It’s not just uneducated people doing this; even well-dressed, seemingly refined young men and women casually toss trash out of moving danfos, BRT's and private cars.

And then there’s the excuse I hear all the time: “Well, the government hasn’t provided enough public bins.” Fair enough, but how hard is it to hold onto a piece of trash for a few extra minutes until you find a bin? I’ve done this a million times—it’s inconvenient sometimes, sure, but it’s not impossible. It all boils down to discipline and respect for the environment you live in.

But here’s the thing—even those who do throw their trash in bins still somehow manage to do it wrong. Have you ever walked past a public dustbin and seen trash scattered all around it? Some people don’t even bother to push their waste inside; they just dump it near the bin, as if the ground around it is an extension of the bin itself. And when the bin gets full, what happens? They keep stacking garbage on top like it’s a balancing game, until the wind or rain scatters it everywhere again.

How many people actually think, "This bin is full, let me look for another one” or “Let me bring out a garbage bag to contain the overflow”? Almost nobody. Because as long as they can say, “Well, I threw my trash in the right place”, they feel no responsibility for the mess.

And that’s the deeper issue—too many Nigerians live with a bare minimum mentality. We only do the absolute least required to feel good about ourselves, never going an inch beyond that. We blame the government for everything, yet we refuse to make the smallest effort to improve our own surroundings.

Have you ever noticed how quickly Nigerians will transform their own personal space into something clean and presentable? Their houses, their cars, their offices—immaculate. But once they step outside, they suddenly lose all sense of responsibility. “It’s not my business,” “It’s not my property,” “Government should fix it.” Well this is one of the reasons why our streets are filthy, why our public spaces are decaying, and why, despite all the potential in this country, we still live in dysfunction.

The way we dispose of our waste is a direct reflection of who we are as individuals and, collectively, as a society. Compare Nigeria—where littering is second nature—to countries where people make a conscious effort to dispose of waste properly. The difference is stark. Nigeria is already difficult to live in; must we add filth to the misery? Imagine how much more bearable life here would be if our streets weren’t drowning in garbage.

If you’re guilty of careless littering, I urge you to make a conscious effort to change. Start by holding onto your trash until you find a bin. If a bin is full, don’t just dump your waste on top—find another bin or secure the trash properly. If you see overflowing garbage, take the initiative to add a bag or encourage others to dispose of their waste properly. These little things matter.

Once you practice this consistently, it becomes second nature. Small actions like this ripple into something bigger. Let’s do better. Abeg.

Good topic, Nigerians are very dirty

That is the combination of wickedness and carelessness. If the government tries to ban sachet water and bottled water, the same careless and wicked people will claim that the government does not want poor masses to survive in the country. But now that the government allows the poor masses to survive on the business of sachet water and bottled water, the poor masses wickedly and carelessly use the business to degrade the environment.

During heavy rain, some people purposely empty waste bins into gutters for erosion to shift the trash from the front of their compounds to other compounds down the street. If it is not wickedness, why do they wait until rain starts and why do they usually do it secretly?

If I drink a satchel of water halfway, I empty the sachet by pouring the remaining water away before properly disposing of the sachet, so as to make incineration of the sachet possible and faster. Many people drink sachet water halfway and dump the sachet with the remaining water, thereby making incineration of the sachet very difficult or even impossible.

Talk from now till tomorrow, It doesn't change the fact that most Nigerians are nonchalantly untidy.

Yup. Japan is so developed due to indoctrination

lordm:
Good topic, Nigerians are very dirty

This throwing of things is solely based on the environment you find yourself.

Them no born you well to throwaway something for calabar town or even for lekki.

But you can throw stuffs away in areas like kwara and kogi and nobody go send you. Why? Causes it's obtainable in that environment

A civilized person shouldn't be throwing trash on the streets

You should know that we (Nigerians) are seemingly Irresponsible people and there is no enough Education to help us become Responsible.

Ever wonder why successive Government have only be concern about Lootocracy rather than Developing the nation?
Na still that Irresponsible mindset.

BeforeJuly:
I wholeheartedly believe in the power of indoctrination—when done right, it shapes habits that last a lifetime. Take, for example, the Keep Lagos Clean campaign launched by Governor Fashola in 2008. That initiative left such a deep impression on me that, to this day, I find it nearly impossible to litter. No matter how small the trash in my hand, I hold onto it until I find a bin—whether outside or at home. On rare occasions, I dispose of biodegradable waste like paper or edibles I snack on in gutters, but never plastic or anything non-degradable.

Now to the point of this rant: Why are Nigerians so frustratingly careless when it comes to waste disposal? It baffles me daily. I watch people wind down their car windows to fling entire plastic bottles onto the streets, gutters, and sidewalks without a second thought. Every time I step outside, I witness this behavior over and over again—so normalized that no one even bats an eye. It’s not just uneducated people doing this; even well-dressed, seemingly refined young men and women casually toss trash out of moving danfos, BRT's and private cars.

And then there’s the excuse I hear all the time: “Well, the government hasn’t provided enough public bins.” Fair enough, but how hard is it to hold onto a piece of trash for a few extra minutes until you find a bin? I’ve done this a million times—it’s inconvenient sometimes, sure, but it’s not impossible. It all boils down to discipline and respect for the environment you live in.

But here’s the thing—even those who do throw their trash in bins still somehow manage to do it wrong. Have you ever walked past a public dustbin and seen trash scattered all around it? Some people don’t even bother to push their waste inside; they just dump it near the bin, as if the ground around it is an extension of the bin itself. And when the bin gets full, what happens? They keep stacking garbage on top like it’s a balancing game, until the wind or rain scatters it everywhere again.

How many people actually think, "This bin is full, let me look for another one” or “Let me bring out a garbage bag to contain the overflow”? Almost nobody. Because as long as they can say, “Well, I threw my trash in the right place”, they feel no responsibility for the mess.

And that’s the deeper issue—too many Nigerians live with a bare minimum mentality. We only do the absolute least required to feel good about ourselves, never going an inch beyond that. We blame the government for everything, yet we refuse to make the smallest effort to improve our own surroundings.

Have you ever noticed how quickly Nigerians will transform their own personal space into something clean and presentable? Their houses, their cars, their offices—immaculate. But once they step outside, they suddenly lose all sense of responsibility. “It’s not my business,” “It’s not my property,” “Government should fix it.” Well this is one of the reasons why our streets are filthy, why our public spaces are decaying, and why, despite all the potential in this country, we still live in dysfunction.

The way we dispose of our waste is a direct reflection of who we are as individuals and, collectively, as a society. Compare Nigeria—where littering is second nature—to countries where people make a conscious effort to dispose of waste properly. The difference is stark. Nigeria is already difficult to live in; must we add filth to the misery? Imagine how much more bearable life here would be if our streets weren’t drowning in garbage.

If you’re guilty of careless littering, I urge you to make a conscious effort to change. Start by holding onto your trash until you find a bin. If a bin is full, don’t just dump your waste on top—find another bin or secure the trash properly. If you see overflowing garbage, take the initiative to add a bag or encourage others to dispose of their waste properly. These little things matter.

Once you practice this consistently, it becomes second nature. Small actions like this ripple into something bigger. Let’s do better. Abeg.

Responsible government produce responsible citizens.

Just like a good father given birth to a good children.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Lagos and Ibadan left the group 😂

Good post !

BeforeJuly:
I wholeheartedly believe in the power of indoctrination—when done right, it shapes habits that last a lifetime. Take, for example, the Keep Lagos Clean campaign launched by Governor Fashola in 2008. That initiative left such a deep impression on me that, to this day, I find it nearly impossible to litter. No matter how small the trash in my hand, I hold onto it until I find a bin—whether outside or at home. On rare occasions, I dispose of biodegradable waste like paper or edibles I snack on in gutters, but never plastic or anything non-degradable.

Now to the point of this rant: Why are Nigerians so frustratingly careless when it comes to waste disposal? It baffles me daily. I watch people wind down their car windows to fling entire plastic bottles onto the streets, gutters, and sidewalks without a second thought. Every time I step outside, I witness this behavior over and over again—so normalized that no one even bats an eye. It’s not just uneducated people doing this; even well-dressed, seemingly refined young men and women casually toss trash out of moving danfos, BRT's and private cars.

And then there’s the excuse I hear all the time: “Well, the government hasn’t provided enough public bins.” Fair enough, but how hard is it to hold onto a piece of trash for a few extra minutes until you find a bin? I’ve done this a million times—it’s inconvenient sometimes, sure, but it’s not impossible. It all boils down to discipline and respect for the environment you live in.

But here’s the thing—even those who do throw their trash in bins still somehow manage to do it wrong. Have you ever walked past a public dustbin and seen trash scattered all around it? Some people don’t even bother to push their waste inside; they just dump it near the bin, as if the ground around it is an extension of the bin itself. And when the bin gets full, what happens? They keep stacking garbage on top like it’s a balancing game, until the wind or rain scatters it everywhere again.

How many people actually think, "This bin is full, let me look for another one” or “Let me bring out a garbage bag to contain the overflow”? Almost nobody. Because as long as they can say, “Well, I threw my trash in the right place”, they feel no responsibility for the mess.

And that’s the deeper issue—too many Nigerians live with a bare minimum mentality. We only do the absolute least required to feel good about ourselves, never going an inch beyond that. We blame the government for everything, yet we refuse to make the smallest effort to improve our own surroundings.

Have you ever noticed how quickly Nigerians will transform their own personal space into something clean and presentable? Their houses, their cars, their offices—immaculate. But once they step outside, they suddenly lose all sense of responsibility. “It’s not my business,” “It’s not my property,” “Government should fix it.” Well this is one of the reasons why our streets are filthy, why our public spaces are decaying, and why, despite all the potential in this country, we still live in dysfunction.

The way we dispose of our waste is a direct reflection of who we are as individuals and, collectively, as a society. Compare Nigeria—where littering is second nature—to countries where people make a conscious effort to dispose of waste properly. The difference is stark. Nigeria is already difficult to live in; must we add filth to the misery? Imagine how much more bearable life here would be if our streets weren’t drowning in garbage.

If you’re guilty of careless littering, I urge you to make a conscious effort to change. Start by holding onto your trash until you find a bin. If a bin is full, don’t just dump your waste on top—find another bin or secure the trash properly. If you see overflowing garbage, take the initiative to add a bag or encourage others to dispose of their waste properly. These little things matter.

Once you practice this consistently, it becomes second nature. Small actions like this ripple into something bigger. Let’s do better. Abeg.

The basic things in life we don't take care of them in Nigeria ... Normal things are being done abnormally..

Good topic

Okay

Hehe na their way.

Poverty, lack of civilization, overpopulation and dirtiness, go hand in hand.

We just don't care! We always give excuses for anything negative! When you tell someone it is wrong to dispose of waste on the street, they begin to lecture you on how bad the government is.

It's irritatingly frustrating!

Nigerians don't care about others that's our biggest problem... We don't care where d wastes are going to or where they'll end up.... We don't even care about our neighbours.... If not a governor was talking advice from a mad man while hospitals were on strike... And even used it to campaign....

Is there a way we can report people with evidence ooo...

True, years back them no born you well to put trash outside in calabar during donald dukes time. buses had bins inside and drivers had their own bins.

We need reorientatation

No b small thing

Some Nigerians are carelessly dirty and disgusting. On my way out this morning, I saw a sack of used baby diaper dumped on the street.

It's not a Nigerian thing. It's common in third world countries like Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Black people all over the world are naturally dirty.

They need to start arresting people who dispose waste improperly. That's the solution for now.

The government needs to setup an efficient waste collection process.

Some building pay the waste management fee but yet you don't see anyone come to collect the waste after 3 weeks, I think this waste management bit, both the people and the government should be help able.

Most street have no waste bin, people resort dump refuse on the street, I'm not in of that, but if you really want to keep the city clean you need to build systems and compel people to adjust.

Both the Government and the people are dropping the ball on this one.

God bless you, Nigerians and third world countries are nuisance. They will still blame the White people as those responsible for their woes

Thanks for this piece

Nigerians need proper orientation on waste management, it’s unbelievable the level of discipline displayed by some visiting kids from overseas, whenever they eat biscuits, they will come to you and ask where is the bin?

Nija na third world country, na and we are even doing anything to improve our rating...that too bad

This problem actually is a defect of upbringing. Anyway you see it, that's the fact!!!