By Dunni Thomas
In a bid to establish the Sustainable Development Goals, National Youths Service corps members Osogbo have stormed Sasa market to engage in sanitation and enlighten market stakeholders on adopting hygiene practices and keeping the market environment clean.
This sensitization programme was held on Wednesday, working towards the NYSC 17 Sustainable Development Goals focusing on the 6th goal tagged Clean water and sanitation.
Demonstrating the essence of the sanitation exercise, the President of the SDGs Community development service group, Dunni Thomas said the sensitization programme was organized to create awareness, educate and enlighten the market men and women on cleanliness, adopting a healthy market lifestyle for the sake of consumers generally.
“Cleanliness is next to godliness, perishable and non perishable products are sold here which has made it imperative to understand the essence of cleanliness. What we consume and the effect of these foods in our body system are determined by how they are handled before consumption.” She said.
The market women leader otherwise known as the Iyaloja of Sasa Market, Mrs Adijat Maruf affirmed that traders are often times advised not to dispose wastes indiscriminately.
Mrs Adijat Maruf acknowledged the presence of the serving corps members in the market for re-emphasizing the need for keeping a clean market environment during the enlightenment session.
“We expect the government to do everything for us but should the government also sweep and clean our environment for us?, that is the reason we must always play our parts duly” she stated.
The awareness focused solely on the need to phase out the abuse of marketing environment, management of wastes and careful handling of consumables.
The Co-ordinator of the Hausa traders in the market, Alhaji Shehu also supported the sanitation exercise carried out by the corps members by making provisions for waste bins, giving assurance on positive change regarding the cleanliness of the marketing environment.
The enlightenment was done in sections considering the various tribes of the traders. Traders were communicated with in English, Yoruba and Hausa respectively.
The sanitation exercise commenced with picking of wastes, sweeping and dumping of refuses properly then it ended with the sensitization of market men and women on proper waste disposal as well as the handling of perishable/consumable goods.
