30th January, 2012
Mr. Amofokhai Audu had been visiting the Lagos State Government Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja in Lagos, South West Nigeria for over seven years. One thing he hated most was for him to be pressed, a situation that would warrant him to use any of the ‘rest rooms’ in the ministries. The last time he did, he almost vomited; he had opened the rest room used by the Rapid Response Squad, RRS to ease himself but to his consternation, he saw piles of excreta smiling at him.
He had seen several ministries at the secretariat in dilapidated form, especially the Ministry of Information and Strategy where a portion on the second floor is caving in gradually, coupled with the dirty nature of the walls of most ministries. He had dreamt that the government secretariat will be an El-Dorado, but this thought faded away over the years.
Late last year, Audu had a business deal at the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment. Living home very early, he rushed to the ministry to catch up with the appointment but he was shocked by what he saw. Could this be the same Environment Ministry he had been visiting over the years? What has happened? Was he dreaming? These and several other questions flashed through his mind in seconds.
He saw the beauty of a ministry he had never seen in the entire secretariat, he saw the curtains hung on the wall in the corridor of the ministry, not in offices as it used to be; he saw the tiles glistening; in fact, the entire ambience is a delight.
Audu remembered that he was pressed. He had been trying to hold on until he gets home after his assignment to ease himself but with the picturesque scene he saw, he knew that the rest room of that ministry would be golden, so he raced there and he was not disappointed. He allowed his waste to gush out in torrent.
The above scenario witnessed by Audu is latest picture of the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment. Since October, 2011, a lot of transformation has taken place in the ministry; the change in leadership has led to change in taste and in the style of administration. Apart from the beautiful flowers adorning the ministry in the last four years, nothing else to show for it as the wall was anything to write home about.
The ministry began to wear new look late last year when the new Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello took over the helm of affairs. He saw the ministry in tatter and not befitting the status of an Environment Ministry. There was no security as everyone goes in and out, putting the lives of the staff at risk.
The first part of the renovation was to replace the stairs with tiles, paint the outside wall and put in place a befitting reception and security post at the entrance of the ministry. Unlike the stuffy security post in several ministries at the secretariat, that of the Environment ministry is different as several Air conditions were placed in strategic places.
The floors in the ministry were replaced with glistening tiles. The floors sparkle. Curtains adorn the wall on the ground floor while in each floor, is a security post with hired security personnel to man them. The first floor, where the commissioner’s office is located is most beautiful as it was built to taste. The security there is impenetrable.
The beauty of the ministry is such that one cannot afford to dump a piece of paper or waste on the floor without feeling a sense of guilt, unlike in several ministries littered with wastes.
The beautification and landscaping in the ministry is second to none. A first timer to the ministry will certainly have his or her attention captured by the beautiful nature of the ambience. The beautification and landscaping in the ministry is still being giving a facelift.
Unlike in the past, a stand by generator is in place to complement the intermittent power supply by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.
Staff in the ministry are happy that they work in conducive environment. They said they were proud to be part of the transformation in the ministry.
A staff who craved anonymity said she was happy with the transformation going on and that she felt proud to work in the ministry as her office is not stuffy like in some ministry, adding that the whole scenery was simply fantastic.
As it is, the Environment Ministry has set the pace for other ministries to follow as it has shown that charity must begin at home.
Mr Oluwatoyin Onisarotu, Director, Monitoring, Enforcement and Compliance in the ministry said what was happening in the ministry was part of move by the commissioner to make the environment conducive and befitting for the staff and set the pace for other ministries to follow.
“We are giving the Environment Ministry a corporate look; we should be a pace setter and that is how a conducive environment should look like. We are setting the pace for others to follow. Charity begins at home,” he said.
Asked what motivated him in transforming the ministry, the Commissioner, Bello said “I believe that if you running the Ministry of Environment, charity must begin at home. I want a situation whereby if you enter the Ministry of the Environment, you see the cleanliness from there. It is like the quotation that says physician, heal yourself.
“We must heal ourselves first before we will think of going out to heal other people. So, if our environment is not conducive, we will not have the courage to carry out enforcement. That is the reason behind this; we want to have a befitting environment for our staff to work in,” he stated.
The commissioner said he decided to improve on the security network of the ministry because he wanted the staff to work under a peaceful atmosphere, devoid of disturbance and distraction from outsiders.
According to him, the renovation of the ministry is just 25 percent completed, saying that there was still more to be done.
“We still have other plans; this renovation is just 25 percent completed. We still need more offices. It is just about 25 percent completed and more work is ongoing,” he stated.
—Kazeem Ugbodaga