The female street sweepers working for the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) have been charged to be diligent and passionate with the work they do.
The street sweepers, who gathered recently for awards and recognition at an elaborate event organized by Spotlight Africa Network in collaboration with LAWMA, were also advised to be committed to their own growth and development on the job.
Oke Maduewesi, CEO, Zaron, and Ayo Megbope, CEO, No Left-Overs, were among speakers at the event who encouraged the women to see the work they do as a stepping stone to greatness and to realize that no one could be more committed to their growth than they themselves.
“Journey on fearlessly; stay committed to your own growth and development and boldly invest in your businesses and carry out your work with consistent diligence,” Kate Henshaw, an actress, told the women who were given awards for their efforts at making Lagos clean and also for making a difference in their communities.
The award ceremony was the highpoint of the launching of ‘The LAWMA Women Making a Difference Leadership Awards’, a joint venture initiative that awards, rewards, motivates and inspires women who, through their everyday work, have shown incredible dedication and excellent leadership.
The event recognized 150 diligent and devoted street sweepers including those who lost their lives on duty. These are women who in their everyday work have exceeded all expectations and are worthy to be celebrated.
The event which was supported by Sterling Bank, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), media organizations, Coca-Cola, SAS Textile Limited, Galaxy TV, Silver Bird TV, Daviva, Fidelity Bank, Koda Properties, Barrie Billions, hosted notable people including Ola Oresanya, the current managing director of LAWMA, and Emma Fekoya, unit commander, federal roads safety corps (FRSC).
In her remarks, Nonye Mike-Nnaji, President of Spotlight Africa, and managing partner at HSPG Realtors, extolled the virtues of the street sweepers for their exceptional delivery, saying that despite the risk associated with their job and low remuneration, they still remained dedicated to duty.
“What these women are doing is incredible. Some of them wake up as early as 4am to sweep the streets of Lagos. What they did during the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria was awesome,” Nnaji said.
She posited that their good work prompted her team to be the first to celebrate them. “The day I saw one of them working tirelessly, I began to think about what it meant to clean the dirt in Lagos. I met some corporates to come and support us to celebrate them, and the turnout is overwhelming,” she said.
In his address, Oladimeji Oresanya, CEO of LAWMA, urged the street sweepers to maintain the tempo, saying it gladdened his heart to see them make impact in the community. “The last four years were tough for them. But we are happy that the glow in their eyes and faces has been restored,” he said.
“You can recall, 10 years back, we did celebrate them annually. They had a handshake with the state governor to boost their morale, but all of a sudden, that stopped. But now, these ones are back on the streets, interestingly, Lagos is getting cleaner,” Oresanya enthused.
The LAWMA boss maintained that the event went beyond celebration of refuse collection, to devising ways to enable them have access to cheap loans, so they can do other things for themselves considering the job is part-time.
One of the awardees, Stella Oluku, urged Lagos State government authorities to look into reckless driving in the state which is a big challenge to her work.
“You know in Lagos, there are many reckless drivers, even when they sight you with safety pole, they will still want to climb on it. We want the government to checkmate this, and build more mechanisms to protect our lives,” she said.
