Mrs Patricia - On Keeping The Streets of Lagos Clean
Interviewed by Ifeoluwa A
Everyone who lives in or has visited Lagos is familiar with the brave people in orange or green overalls who do the hard job of ensuring our streets, markets and major roads are clean. Lagos, the most populous city in our dear country can get quite dirty and as such, tidying it up is not a small feat.
In this interview, I sat with Patricia; a cheerful highway cleaner along the Lekki-Epe expressway. She works with one of the companies charged with the vast responsibility of keeping Lagos clean.
Ife: Thank you for sitting with me this morning. Can you tell me a little about yourself?
Patricia: My name is Patricia. I am from Kogi state. I have three children. I live around Ikate with my husband, who is also a cleaner. We work together. I have been a road cleaner since 2013, stationed at different places.
I: Wow. That’s a long time. How did you get/start* the job?
P: My husband introduced me. He used to work with another road cleaning company, but it folded up. When he heard about this one from a former colleague, he told me and then we went for the interview together. It is not much, but it is far better than sitting at home and depending on other people.
I: What are your thoughts/How do you feel about the job?
P: It is not a bad job, but it is demanding. Only strong people can do the work. We also have to do it well, to the best of our abilities else we do not get paid. They are 35 of us in my group, and each person has their portion of the road that they clean every day, except Sundays. We start between 7:00 am, and 7:30 am and work until about 4 pm, with an hour break at midday. Our madam pays us in cash at the end of every month. Some of the workers like me are not literate. So, we can not go to the bank. She makes it easier for us by paying in cash. We used to have night shifts but not anymore.
Things are better now than when I started working with this company. First of all, the salary has increased. Also, we do not have night shifts anymore. I hated that part of the work because it was risky. During the lockdown last year, we got some foodstuff, and money from our manager to help us since we could not work.
I: What motivates you on the job/keeps you going?
P: Na the money oh. If I do not work, I will not have money. In all my time in Lagos, I have not had any job that pays on time. By the second day of the new month, our madam pays us. Another thing is that I have to send money home to my mother, who helps me take care of my children in the village. I have to do my best. So, that the money is complete at the end of the month. We travel home every January, and I am always happy to go and see my children and other family members. It can get lonely here, but we go dey.
I: What do you like/dislike most about the work?
P: It gives me something to do. It’s either that or I steal, and it would be shameful to hear that a full-grown woman like me is caught stealing. The part I do not like much is that those trucks that carry building materials like sand, granite, etc. do not line their truck beds well, and they end up spilling whatever they pack on the road, making it harder to sweep. I also have to deal with dodging reckless okada riders. Another thing is that we see road accidents first hand.
I: What are your plans for the future?
P: This job does not pay too well so, I want to leave it next year or the year after that. I want to start a foodstuff/provisions business. So, I can have more money to move to a better place and provide more for my children. I do not have the money yet, but I believe God will make it away. I have been looking around, and I am quite hopeful.
Writer’s Note: this interview was conducted in pidgin English and has been translated and edited for clarity.