Beyond the conventional methods of generating revenue, Plateau State can explore innovative ways to increase its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). In truth, Nigerians often respond best when rules are backed with fines and enforcement. If properly harnessed, such measures can not only generate revenue but also promote public order and safeguard lives.
The menace of open defecation remains widespread. Government should set up a high-powered committee to design measures to curb the practice, with clear punitive sanctions for landlords who build houses without adequate toilet facilities. Fines should be stipulated, and offenders penalised regardless of their social status.
Similarly, extending septic tanks or toilet pipes into streams and rivers that serve communities should attract severe punishment. Such acts are akin to poisoning a water source and must be treated with utmost seriousness. Polluted streams become breeding grounds for rodents, flies, cockroaches and diseases like cholera and typhoid, threatening public health.
Many residents keep dogs for security, yet due to economic hardship, only a few can properly care for them. The result is an increase in stray dogs roaming the streets, many of which become wild or dangerous. Several accidents have been caused by stray animals and, in tragic cases, lives have been lost.
A particularly harrowing case was that of two children bitten by a mad stray dog whose owner failed to take responsibility. Their parents could not afford anti-rabies treatment, and the girls eventually died in agony. If legislation against stray animals had existed with strict fines, such a tragedy might have been avoided.
Other stray animals such as goats, sheep and pigs should also be confiscated if found on the streets. Owners should only recover them after paying fines. Stray animals not only cause accidents but also endanger lives and property.
Sanitation presents yet another untapped source of revenue. In the past, sanitary inspectors ensured households adhered to basic hygiene standards. Reviving such a system would serve three purposes: create employment, ensure a cleaner environment and generate revenue through fines for offenders.
Indiscriminate dumping of refuse must also be curbed. Government should provide adequate incinerators while engaging sanitary officers to enforce compliance. Offenders must face penalties, ensuring communities remain clean and safe.
Inviting private companies into waste management is another sustainable solution. Under a structured arrangement, specific companies could be assigned to different areas: for example, one handling Rayfield, another Bukuru, another Lamingo and so on. Payments would go directly to the
companies, creating employment opportunities, reducing street idleness and injecting financial activity into the economy.
Mobile toilets also offer potential. Government and private individuals can invest in this service, which not only generates revenue but also produces manure from collected waste. This is a simple but profitable model already thriving in other states.
Equally disturbing is the rise of exploitative child labour in Plateau State. At a recent briefing, the Acting Chairperson of the Gender Commission, Barrister Olivia Dazyam, lamented that the state had become the
“headquarters” of child exploitation, particularly in the use of minors as housemaids while parents pocket their wages.
Therefore, government must impose heavy fines on perpetrators of child labour and on parents who fail to respect children’s rights. This includes parents who neglect their duty to provide for their children or refuse to enrol them in school. Such decisive action will not only protect the future of children but also reshape the narrative of Plateau State as a place where child rights are respected.
By enforcing legislation on sanitation, stray animals, environmental abuse and child labour, while simultaneously exploring private sector-driven waste management and innovative services like mobile toilets, Plateau State can significantly increase its IGR. These measures, if implemented with sincerity, will generate revenue through the citizenry for the citizenry, ensuring that Plateau grows cleaner, safer and more prosperous.