Ban on scavengers in the FCT

The recent ban on scavengers popularly known as Baban Bolas in the FCT once again brings to the fore the dictum that every malfeasance has an end date.
For scavengers in the FCT, the end game has simply come to their unwholesome activities because the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has proscribed illegal refuse collection from residential and other areas, limiting the group to only the approved dump sites in both the city and the Area Councils.
Much as there have been mixed feelings over this recent development, it is pertinent to point out that scavenging the world over has grown past going from house to house to scatter people’s bins.
It is done only at dump sites and there is nothing wrong in the FCT deciding to also follow suit.
Abuja residents are witnesses to how the activities of these scavengers are posing a threat and making life difficult for the residents.
Under the guise of scavenging from refuse bins in neighbourhoods across the city, the Baban Bolas have been involved in many criminal activities from petty stealing to armed robbery, vandalism of public utilities and other forms of crime and criminality.
Kudos must therefore be given to the FCTA for responding to the outcries of many FCT residents and imposing this ban because many valuables have been lost to scavengers in the territory, as well as vandalism of public utilities and robbery activities that carried their footprints.
Those against this ban need to understand that government is not trying to stop the business of scavengers but merely moving to bring sanity and orderliness to the business.
It is also to the benefit of the scavengers themselves because going to the approved dumpsites will save them time and reduce the laborious task of moving from place to place and sometimes getting knocked down by moving vehicles.
Government needs to put policies in place to allay the fears expressed by this group about the ripple effect the decision will have on their members such as loss of jobs and shortage of supply of scrap metals to iron smelting companies both at home and abroad.
Government should also endeavour to always carry them along in any new development as regards the practice of their trade.
Danladi Akilu, Durumi II, Gudu District, Abuja

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