SUFDI Leads Cleanup Across 10 Streets in Ijora-Badia, Conducts Air Quality Assessment

 

By Adediran Ayomide

Lagos, Nigeria — October 3, 2026.

 The Sustainable Futures Development Initiative (SUFDI) mobilised residents, volunteers and community stakeholders for a large-scale environmental sanitation exercise covering 10 streets in Ijora-Badia, Lagos State, as part of efforts to promote cleaner neighbourhoods, healthier living conditions and greater community responsibility for environmental protection.

The exercise, held on Saturday, October 3, 2026, formed part of Nigeria Cleanup Day 2026, a nationwide environmental action campaign convened by the Africa CleanUp Initiative (ACI).

Organised under the theme “Clean Ijora, Breathe Better: From Cleanup to Community Action,” the intervention combined street cleaning, community environmental awareness and air-quality assessment to address sanitation challenges while encouraging long-term behavioural change.

During the exercise, volunteers and community residents worked across 10 streets, removing accumulated refuse and cleaning public spaces, including areas around drainage channels. The intervention improved the immediate cleanliness of the affected locations and helped reduce waste accumulation that could contribute to drainage blockage and environmental health risks.

Beyond the physical cleanup, the initiative incorporated an air-quality assessment to examine environmental conditions within the community. The exercise drew attention to the importance of understanding air pollution alongside visible sanitation challenges, particularly in densely populated urban settlements.

Speaking on the significance of the initiative, SUFDI's Founder and Director, Favour John, emphasised the importance of translating environmental awareness into sustained community action.

“For us at SUFDI, the success of this intervention is not simply that we cleaned 10 streets. It is that residents, volunteers and partners came together to address a shared environmental challenge. We also incorporated air-quality monitoring because the conversation about healthier communities must go beyond visible waste to include the quality of the environment people live in. Our goal is to turn this one-day action into a lasting culture of environmental responsibility,” he said.

The exercise followed preparatory community consultations and site assessments undertaken by SUFDI to identify priority locations, understand local environmental concerns and coordinate participation.

The Joint Abete Community Development Association (CDA) played an important role in providing community guidance and supporting engagement with local stakeholders.

Reflecting on the intervention, the CDA Chairman welcomed the collaboration and emphasised the importance of sustained environmental sanitation.

“When SUFDI first approached us about this initiative, we welcomed the idea because environmental sanitation is one of the challenges affecting our community. Seeing the exercise cover 10 streets shows what can be achieved when organisations work closely with community leadership and residents. We appreciate the effort and hope this collaboration will encourage more consistent sanitation practices across Ijora-Badia,” the Chairman stated.

A participating community resident also expressed appreciation for the initiative and called for greater responsibility among residents.

“We are happy that this cleanup happened in our community. Some of these streets have had problems with waste disposal for a long time, and seeing people come together to clean them is encouraging. But we also know that keeping the environment clean is our responsibility. I hope this will encourage more residents to take better care of their surroundings,” the resident said.

The intervention benefited from collaboration and support involving LAWMA, Clime With Me and UrbanBetter, alongside community leaders, residents and volunteers. SUFDI also acknowledged the Africa CleanUp Initiative for providing the wider Nigeria Cleanup Day platform through which the exercise was organised.

The cleanup highlighted the value of coordinated action among civil society organisations, community leadership, environmental service providers and residents in addressing everyday environmental challenges.

Although the exercise delivered immediate improvements across the 10 streets covered, SUFDI stressed that sustaining these gains would require continued responsible waste disposal, regular environmental sanitation, drainage protection and active community participation.

Residents were encouraged to maintain the cleaned locations, discourage indiscriminate dumping and take greater ownership of their immediate environment.

For SUFDI, the intervention represents a practical contribution to community-led environmental sustainability and urban resilience, demonstrating that meaningful environmental improvement begins when communities move beyond awareness to collective action.

The message from Ijora-Badia was clear: cleaning a community is an important first step, but keeping it clean is a shared and continuous responsibility.

 About Sustainable Futures Development Initiative (SUFDI)

Sustainable Futures Development Initiative (SUFDI) is a Nigerian non-governmental organisation committed to advancing sustainable development through community-driven initiatives focused on environmental sustainability, public health, community resilience, and inclusive participation.

Media Contact:

Sustainable Futures Development Initiative (SUFDI) Nigeria

Email: sufdinigeria@gmail.com

Instagram: @sufdi_nigeria

LinkedIn: Sustainable Futures Development Initiative