Malete Youth Have Evidence, But Can Advocacy Deliver Cleaner Streets?
In Malete, some people throw rubbish into drainage channels believing rainfall will carry it away. Instead, the waste can block drains and worsen flooding.
That simple habit became one of the problems young members of the Civic Impact Team wanted to understand, document and push authorities to address.
Before entering the community, the volunteers first learned how advocacy works, how evidence is gathered, and why facts matter when asking leaders for action.
The training covered environmental advocacy, policy engagement, stakeholder mapping, ethical data collection, accountability, communication and ways young people can participate in public decisions.
Promotional materials for the training presented Abdulrasaq Ahmed Abiodun, Sherifdeen Olamilekan Saula and Victoria James as facilitators across the virtual learning sessions.
Abiodun’s session focused on turning community data into advocacy messages, including evidence from photographs, surveys, interviews, observations and responsible engagement with residents.
Saula’s session connected environmental concerns with community evidence gathering, showing participants how local problems can be investigated, documented and turned into organised action.
James focused on policy advocacy, stakeholder engagement and communication, helping participants understand how accountability and careful engagement can influence decisions and encourage change.
The central lesson was simple: complaining about a problem is not enough. Advocates need evidence, responsible people, clear requests and a plan for follow-up.
From Online Training to Malete Streets
With those lessons, the team moved from online training into Malete, where waste disposal, blocked drainage channels and recurring flooding had become community concerns.
Members mapped waste hotspots between Malete Park Roundabout and the Primary Health Centre, while speaking with residents, business owners and community leaders about local conditions.
Their findings pointed to several problems, including dumping in drains, structures blocking drainage channels, inaccessible covered drains, weak sanitation participation and inadequate drainage capacity.
Some business owners told the team that waste is sometimes placed inside drains because people expect rainwater to carry it away downstream.
But the project’s advocacy brief warned that this practice simply moves the rubbish elsewhere, where it can gather, block water flow and increase flooding risks.
The belief was captured locally as “Ojo ma gbé lọ,” meaning the rain will carry it away, but the evidence showed another problem.
Moving Beyond Complaints
The young advocates did not stop at collecting information. They joined a community cleanup and brought their findings into conversations with institutions and local stakeholders.
Students from several university departments, environmental health officers and community members participated in the cleanup, turning the project from classroom learning into visible local action.
The project also reached the Malete Community Development Association, whose president, Aremu Usman, pledged support for efforts to improve sanitation and reduce flooding.
Later, stakeholders met to discuss the evidence and possible solutions, including waste collection, drainage improvement, sanitation education, monitoring and stronger cooperation between institutions.
The community association also called for greater government intervention and expressed willingness to partner with organisations seeking to improve environmental conditions in Malete.
University representatives said students and staff could support government-led environmental work through technical knowledge and volunteer service in sanitation and community environmental management.
Business representatives argued that residents should first receive better education, useful waste collection options and supportive policies before authorities rely heavily on punishment.
That position matched one of the project’s broader recommendations: combine public education with clear sanitation rules, reliable waste services and fair enforcement when violations continue.
What the Team Wants Changed
The advocacy brief also recommended strategic waste collection points, regular evacuation, community monitoring, drainage access, routine maintenance and stronger partnerships with environmental agencies.
It proposed at least one strategically located waste container in Malete, supported by regular collection and public education on proper waste disposal.
The team also recommended keeping drainage channels accessible, avoiding construction over waterways and making it easier to remove rubbish before drains become blocked.
Stakeholders identified another difficult problem: cleanup exercises alone cannot prevent flooding where drainage systems remain too small, damaged, blocked or poorly maintained.
Their discussions therefore pointed toward longer-term drainage development, dependable waste collection and cooperation among government, universities, businesses, community leaders and residents.
The Harder Test Comes Next
Yet the project has not solved Malete’s environmental problems. Its strongest achievement so far is turning scattered complaints into documented issues and specific public demands.
That distinction matters because advocacy is not successful simply because a meeting happens. The training stressed commitments, responsibilities, timelines, follow-up and measurable results.
Participants were taught to ask who is responsible, what was promised, when action should happen and how citizens can check whether promises are kept.
They also learned that strong advocacy should move from identifying a problem through investigation, evidence, mobilisation, engagement, accountability and eventually sustainable change.
That approach fits the wider Nigeria Youth Futures Fund mission of strengthening youth leadership, activism and outcome-driven policy engagement across Nigeria
For Malete, the next question is harder than the training itself: will the evidence lead to cleaner streets, working drains and sustained action from responsible institutions?
Until that happens, the Civic Impact Team’s work remains a beginning rather than a victory, with evidence gathered and the responsibility for follow-through still shared.
