Open Defecation, Waste Dumping Hit Onitsha as Ocha Brigade Withdraws from Major Roads
People engage in open defecation in Onitsha, Anambra State
By Polycarp Ifeanyi, Onitsha
Following a resurgence of open defecation, unauthorized urination, and indiscriminate waste disposal, residents of Onitsha metropolis alongside pedestrians and motorists have appealed to the Governor of Anambra State, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, to reinstate the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (Ocha Brigade) to continue its vital environmental sanitation duties.
Concerned citizens, in separate interviews, also urged the Managing Director of the Ocha Brigade, Chief Celestine Anere, to immediately deploy personnel, particularly to high-risk areas such as the Upper Iweka axis and the Bridgehead-Ogbogwu Market Expressway, to help safeguard public health and save lives.
Some individuals, including commercial drivers, motor park managers, hawkers, and wheelbarrow pushers, who spoke with reporters in Onitsha, expressed alarm at the deteriorating sanitary conditions.
They warned that unless urgent action is taken to return Ocha Brigade operatives to the streets, a public health crisis may be imminent.
“We are dying here again,” “Customers are no longer patronizing me because of the offensive stench from human faeces and urine. It’s as though people were just waiting for Ocha Brigade to vacate the roads so they could return to these unhygienic practices. In other states, environmental enforcers are still active—why is Anambra different?”lamented Mrs. Felicia Nwakaego Eze.
A local vulcanizer, Mr. Hycienth Uwadikaonye, added, “I can’t even stand here for a minute to do my job because of the terrible smell. It’s worse with human faeces. Don’t people have toilets at home? We are begging Governor Soludo to bring back Ocha Brigade. I’m 62 years old I know what’s good and bad. Their work was commendable.”
Mrs. Uchenna Nneoma expressed her frustration: “Nobody should dictate to Governor Soludo how to run the state. I don’t understand why he would give in to pressure and withdraw the Ocha Brigade. That agency brought sanity to Onitsha.”
A motor park manager, Mr. Patrick Enwezue, echoed similar sentiments: “Just go to Bridgehead Market, Ogbogwu, MCC, Upper Iweka, Onitsha-Owerri Road—you can’t even stand at a corner to answer a call or wait for transport. The air is unbearable. Soludo should bring back the Ocha Brigade and stop listening to the opposition.”
Philip Nwabueze added, “We need the Ocha Brigade back on duty so we can breathe clean air. Everyone knows they don’t carry guns. That killing at Main Market had nothing to do with Ocha Brigade. Let the authorities investigate properly—it was likely politically motivated by Soludo’s opponents.”
Comrade Okechukwu Ekweme, a commercial driver, also weighed in: “What exactly was Ocha Brigade’s offence? I drive this route daily and see them working from morning till night. Open defecation and indiscriminate urination are creeping back since their withdrawal. Soludo must act fast.”
Hon. Emman Ezugwulo questioned the logic behind the backlash: “If Ocha Brigade is a legitimate state agency, why should a few critics disrupt their work? Look at how Top of Hunters area is messed up again. Must Anambra State politicize everything?”
Prince Ugwunnia Francis (Junior) stated: “The worsening sanitation in Onitsha has vindicated Ocha Brigade. Everyone is now calling for their return. The government should strengthen their mandate to further clean up the city. They’ve done well, and they don’t carry weapons.”
Others who also reacted to the sudden disappearance of the Ocha Brigade from environmental health enforcement include Nwosu Ejike (wheelbarrow pusher), Anthonia Ude (hawker), and Ifunanya Judith (POS operator), among others.
Meanwhile, further investigations revealed that several mobile waste bins deployed by the Ocha Brigade to curb littering were reportedly left uncollected after routine operations and have since been removed by unknown individuals.
As at the time of filing this report, the Managing Director of the Ocha Brigade, Chief Celestine Anere, had yet to comment on the development.
