Mohammed Shosanya
Clean Up Nigeria has announced its rankings for the six cleanest states, with Akwa Ibom topping the list for the sixth consecutive year, followed by Enugu and Lagos.
The public presentation of the State of the Nigerian Environment,(STONE), in its seventh edition, tagged “Stone 2024 Unplugged,” was organized by the Clean-Up Nigeria recently in Abuja.
The National Coordinator (CUN) and Secretary of the National Technical Study Group (NTSG), Prince Ene Baba Owoh, Jr. announced the six zonal cleanest state champions in Nigeria in a statement on Friday.
The annual Cleanliness Performance Index Rating, chaired by Professor Solomon Balogun, recognized Akwa lbom State as the cleanest state in the South-South, Enugu State in the SouthEast, Lagos State in the South-West, Plateau State in the North-Central, Borno State in the North-East, and Kaduna State in the North-West.
These six zonal cleanliness champions were awarded the prestigious STONE Green Crystal Award in 2024. The study also revealed that over 179 million people in Nigeria are living in unclean environment, compared to 183 million in 2023. However, life expectancy in Nigeria fell from 44 years in 2023 to 40 years in 2024.
STONE aims to highlight the importance of environmental cleanliness and sustainability in Nigeria, recognizing the efforts of the six zonal cleanliness champions and encouraging others to follow suit.
Nigeria’s sanitation situation is a mixed bag. On one hand, the country has seen a slight improvement in reducing open defecation, from 24% in 2023 to 20% in 2024:’ This progress has pushed Nigeria from the top spot in open defecation worldwide to the second position, with India taking the lead.
However, there are still significant challenges. Twenty-eight of thirty-seven states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) outside Abuja, are rated as unclean. This is a slight increase from thirty-one states in 2023.
In terms of waste management, only four states – Akwa Ibom, Enugu, and Abia, along with Lagos ~ showed a 4% improvement in procurement of waste management equipment in 2024. Funding for sanitation initiatives has also decreased, and the health of sanitation workers has deteriorated, with a drop from 31% in 2023 to 28% in 2024.
Nine states – Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Lagos, Kaduna, Plateau, Enugu, Cross River, Anambra, and Bauchi – scored above 40% in overall performance ratings and can be considered clean.
While there are some encouraging signs, Nigeria still faces significant challenges in improving its sanitation situation.
The Stone Study’s findings further revealed that only seven states demonstrated good personal hygiene and sanitation practices among their citizens.
In terms of environmental cleanliness, nine states out of thirty-seven, including the FCT, (outside Abuja city) were found to have unclean streets and roads. Conversely, eight states have successfully managed and sustained vegetation and drainage control.
Waste recycling efforts have declined, dropping from 26% in 2023 to 19% in 2024. This decrease is attributed to the rising poverty levels in the country.
The Environmenta! Performance Index (EPI) rating utilizes 58 environmental performance indicators across five key categories to rank the states.
These categories encompass: Air quality; Hygiene and sanitation; Waste management and Climate change mitigation.
Conservation efforts,biodiversity,water resource management, and human impact on the environment
The EPI provides a comprehensive policy rating of government efforts and the collective habits of citizens, offering valuable insights for improvement.
The study’s methodology combined physical verification with satellite imagery, allocating 30% scores to physical verification and 70% to satellite data. This approach utilized the GEOEYEONE technology to collect spectral image data at 0.14 meters or 16 inches from orbit,year round.
The indicators used in the study aimed to promote comprehensive environmental policies targeting governments at all levels and citizens. The 2024 zonal rating has significant merits, expected to improve Nigeria’s national cleanliness index rating.
The zonal emphasis rating fosters regional integration, making the competition more relevant to local environments. By producing zonal cleanliness champions, each zone provides better representation, offering amore comprehensive picture of cleanliness across Nigeria.
Some states have already shown commitment to environmental sustainability. For instance, Akwa lbom state recently launched massive improved waste equipment combined with the great Akwa lbom cleanup initiative, Anambra State launched a sustainable clean and green
program.
Besides Kwara State applauded clean environment champions. These efforts demonstrate the potential for positive change in Nigeria’s environmental landscape.
The increased participation in the Stone initiative is expected to foster a sense of ownership and responsibility among citizens for their local environment.
This will enhance grassroots mobilization, empowering community leaders to champion the cause and facilitate effective data collection and analysis.
The zonal ratings will provide a more accurate assessment of strengths and weaknesses on a zonal basis, enabling states within each zone to benchmark themselves against one another.
This will promote healthy competition, driving self-improvement and targeted interventions to address specific cleanliness challenges in each state.
The zonal approach will also facilitate interstate collaboration and partnership, promoting knowledge sharing and the incorporation of best practices. Ultimately, this will propel Nigeria towards a cleaner and healthier nation.
By highlighting successes and challenges in each zone, the zonal approach will inspire positive change and showcase best practices.
This, in turn, will encourage states to learn from one another and adopt effective strategies to address their unique environmental challenges.
The ultimate goal of the STONE initiative is to create a more effective and engaging platform that drives positive change in Nigeria’s cleanliness and environmental sustainability.
By doing so, we aim to increase STONE’s visibility, motivate zonal champions to emerge, and drive combined improvement at the national level. Our approach promotes ownership of cleanliness efforts, providing necessary support and resources to ensure success.
The annual Cleanliness Performance Index Rating has consistently ranked Akwa lbom State and Abuja as the cleanest state and town, respectively, for six consecutive years (2018-2023).
