{"id":375,"date":"2022-05-22T07:34:09","date_gmt":"2022-05-22T07:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/"},"modified":"2022-05-22T07:34:09","modified_gmt":"2022-05-22T07:34:09","slug":"the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/","title":{"rendered":"The decaying underbelly of Calabar, Nigeria\u2019s \u2018cleanest city\u2019 – Al Jazeera English"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the 2000s, Calabar emerged as a tourism hub in Nigeria but all that good work has now been rubbished by heaps of litter.<\/em>
Calabar, Nigeria<\/strong> \u2013 Each day, just after dawn in the sleepy southern Nigerian city of Calabar, Hannah Edet sets up shop within the perimeter of a mountain of rubbish right in the heart of Watts Market, or Urua Watts as locals call it.
She dangles a thick bunch of fresh pumpkin leaves to passing commuters and vehicles, advertising to them in her native Efik language, ignoring the stench of decomposing rubbish in the air. The refuse, which piles up to four feet high, has spilled over onto the main road, slowing down traffic. Drivers, winding through the route, spit out in disgust while pedestrians press their palms tightly to their noses.
Edet\u2019s voice is croaky as she laments to Al Jazeera: \u201cThis thing [the smell of the rubbish] has blocked my nose and throat. I\u2019m not feeling comfortable.\u201d
In the mid-2000s, Calabar, a former slave port<\/a> during the days of British colonial rule, emerged as a tourism destination for local and foreign visitors attracted to its beautiful green scenery, rich culture and proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.
Between 2003-2006, former Liberian president Charles Taylor, who was fleeing his country on allegations of war crimes, lived in exile<\/a> in a seaside villa in the city with his family.
The city\u2019s annual Christmas carnival, once hailed as Africa\u2019s biggest street party, played host to a range of notable performers, including the South African composer and trumpeter Hugh Masekela and Senegalese-American rapper Akon.
In 2007, a report<\/a> by The New Humanitarian, then part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, declared: \u201cOf the many towns and cities on the African continent, Calabar must be one of the cleanest.\u201d
These days, the city has lost its allure.<\/p>\n

In places where a plush line of trees once existed, pockets of trash dot the scenery instead. In some areas, rubbish trailing the streets now hosts a formidable breed of houseflies and scavengers.
Within the metropolis, the gutters are awash with refuse or thick with overgrown weed. Dan Archibong Memorial Park, which sits adjacent to the city mall, is under lock and key but also home to weeds and a mass of fallen leaves.
A number of Urua Watts traders maintain that the central landfill at Lemna on the outskirts of the city \u2013 Calabar\u2019s major solid waste dumpsite \u2013 has reached maximum capacity and that the refuse overflow could also be the result of a boycott by garbage collectors over unpaid salaries.
And that has had a trickle-down effect on the pockets of residents like Edet, a 45-year-old single parent to five children \u2013 and their health.
\u201cLast week, my neighbour was terribly sick [and] just recovered,\u201d she said, her eyes becoming misty with tears. \u201cIn fact, it\u2019s him that advised me to take some antibiotics and Paracetamol to help me a little.\u201d
According to her, the garbage collectors last came to evacuate the waste on April 8.
\u201cMost times flies from the refuse perch on the pumpkin and this scares customers away,\u201d Edet told Al Jazeera, gesturing at her scant vegetables. \u201cThat\u2019s why I didn\u2019t buy as much market as I used to because when they [buyers] come, they cover their noses and run. Formerly, it wasn\u2019t like this, especially in the time of Donald Duke.\u201d
Between 1999-2007, the governor of Cross River State was a suave saxophone-playing gentleman called Donald Duke. Under his administration, the state capital, Calabar, flourished as a tourism hub.
Taking a cue from his predecessor Clement Ebri (1992-1993) who focused on landscaping and nurturing ornamental plants around the city, Duke upped the ante. He established resorts and parks and set up agencies responsible for cleaning and evacuating waste in the capital and for beautifying the state.
It was part of a strategic ecotourism agenda, said Duke Emmanuel, a radio host and product manager at independent radio station Hit 95.9 FM Calabar.
\u201cDuring Donald Duke\u2019s time, the focus of the state was basically tourism,\u201d he told Al Jazeera. \u201cIt was typical to find waste bins and baskets at strategic points within, say, 100 meters and they were regularly cleared, compared to what we have now.\u201d
\u201cBecause tourism was at the heart of the administration, the salaries of the waste management guys were promptly paid,\u201d Emmanuel said. \u201cIn fact, there were reports that Donald Duke would drive incognito to inspect the city\u2019s cleanliness. It\u2019s just crazy what Calabar metropolis has degraded into now.\u201d
Effiom Duke (not related to Donald Duke), deputy national coordinator of Green Code, an environmental and human rights advocacy group, blamed the deterioration of standards on a \u201clack of strategic planning\u201d for a population boom and called for the present dumpsite to be closed.
\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t have a dumpsite close to where people live,\u201d he told Al Jazeera. \u201cGo and see the level of decongested water that drips from the dumpsite and flows to the river where the state\u2019s Water Board pumping station is.\u201d
\u201cIt\u2019s a disgrace to the state and government,\u201d Effiom added. \u201cDuring the time of Donald Duke, it was impossible for you to find refuse on the road. There were taskforce agents around strategic points. If you dropped litter on the road, they\u2019d arrest you and charge you to tribunal.\u201d
For Uquetan Ibor, senior lecturer in environmental pollution at the University of Calabar, the situation is only a \u201cworrisome\u201d beginning of something much worse.
The accumulation of rubbish on the streets has pushed residents into disposing refuse in the gutters, thereby blocking the narrow drainage corridors and resulting in flooding of depressed areas he told Al Jazeera.
\u201cMost times you can\u2019t even enter these neighbourhoods when it rains,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s so bad you see people using elevated bridges to get to their houses.\u201d
Scavengers, Uquetan also added, are now in the mix, spearheading an unintended ripple effect.
\u201cThey [scavengers] pick these bottles from those unsanitary conditions and sell to market women for ridiculously cheap prices,\u201d he said. \u201cThese [market] women in turn reuse these bottles to sell palm oil, Zobo and tiger nut drink to residents \u2026 some of these bottles contained products made from mercury and cyanide.
\u201cSome of them are even petrol products, like engine oil and such. As you know this can result in lead poisoning, posing serious health hazards for the end-users in the future.\u201d
Upon assuming office in 2015, current State Governor Benedict Ayade stressed his intention to maintain cleanliness standards in Calabar as the cleanest city nationwide. He also constituted a special task force called Green Police \u2013 later renamed Green Sheriff \u2013 as an environmental watchdog.
Four of Ayade\u2019s more than 2,000 special advisers are specifically assigned to waste management and in the 2022 state budget (PDF)<\/a>, 1.1 billion Nigerian naira ($2.6m) was approved for the waste management agency
This has barely translated to anything on the streets because of indifference on the part of the government to effectively deal with the problem of waste, said Effiom Duke. \u201cTime and time again our government has shown that they can\u2019t be accountable. Of all the money allocated to waste management, only a tiny fraction is released \u2026 that\u2019s the problem.\u201d
Edet said the task force has been more preoccupied with identifying houses with inadequate sewage systems to get bribes from defaulters rather than maintaining proper sanitation in the metropolis.
\u201cWhen it comes to keeping the environment clean, you will never find these people,\u201d she told Al Jazeera.
The manager of the Cross River State Waste Management Agency did not respond to requests for comment. Sunday Oko, director of waste management at the state Ministry of Environment, told Al Jazeera: \u201cWhere\u2019s the refuse? There\u2019s no dirt anywhere. We\u2019re working.\u201d
Back on the streets, Edet has one earnest desire: \u201cI only wish they\u2019d come and clear this refuse,\u201d she said. \u201cI can\u2019t breathe anymore.\u201d
Follow Al Jazeera English:<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the 2000s, Calabar emerged as a tourism hub in Nigeria but all that good work has now been rubbished by heaps of litter.Calabar, Nigeria \u2013 Each day, just after dawn in the sleepy southern Nigerian city of Calabar, Hannah Edet sets up shop within the perimeter of a mountain of rubbish right in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe decaying underbelly of Calabar, Nigeria\u2019s \u2018cleanest city\u2019 - Al Jazeera English - City Watch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The decaying underbelly of Calabar, Nigeria\u2019s \u2018cleanest city\u2019 - Al Jazeera English City Watch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The decaying underbelly of Calabar, Nigeria\u2019s \u2018cleanest city\u2019 - Al Jazeera English City Watch %\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"City Watch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100083282987806\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-22T07:34:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/wp-header-logo-2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#\/schema\/person\/4d253075fba315e21394abc7ee23c578\"},\"headline\":\"The decaying underbelly of Calabar, Nigeria\u2019s \u2018cleanest city\u2019 – Al Jazeera English\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-22T07:34:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-22T07:34:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/\"},\"wordCount\":1349,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/wp-header-logo-2.png\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/\",\"name\":\"The decaying underbelly of Calabar, Nigeria\u2019s \u2018cleanest city\u2019 - Al Jazeera English - City Watch\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/wp-header-logo-2.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-22T07:34:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-22T07:34:09+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/wp-header-logo-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/wp-header-logo-2.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The decaying underbelly of Calabar, Nigeria\u2019s \u2018cleanest city\u2019 – Al Jazeera English\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/\",\"name\":\"City Watch\",\"description\":\"People . Politics . Places\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"City Watch Nigeria\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#organization\",\"name\":\"City Watch\",\"alternateName\":\"City Watch Nigeria\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/CITY-WATCH-logo2-11.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/CITY-WATCH-logo2-11.jpg\",\"width\":696,\"height\":696,\"caption\":\"City Watch\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100083282987806\"],\"publishingPrinciples\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/privacy-and-policies\/\",\"ownershipFundingInfo\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/privacy-and-policies\/\",\"actionableFeedbackPolicy\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/privacy-and-policies\/\",\"correctionsPolicy\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/privacy-and-policies\/\",\"ethicsPolicy\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/privacy-and-policies\/\",\"diversityPolicy\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/privacy-and-policies\/\",\"diversityStaffingReport\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/privacy-and-policies\/\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#\/schema\/person\/4d253075fba315e21394abc7ee23c578\",\"name\":\"Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7b862c03fcad1baaa9daf4c42cd77c4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7b862c03fcad1baaa9daf4c42cd77c4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Editor\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The decaying underbelly of Calabar, Nigeria\u2019s \u2018cleanest city\u2019 - Al Jazeera English - City Watch","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The decaying underbelly of Calabar, Nigeria\u2019s \u2018cleanest city\u2019 - Al Jazeera English City Watch","og_description":"The decaying underbelly of Calabar, Nigeria\u2019s \u2018cleanest city\u2019 - Al Jazeera English City Watch %","og_url":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/","og_site_name":"City Watch","article_publisher":"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100083282987806","article_published_time":"2022-05-22T07:34:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/wp-header-logo-2.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Editor","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/"},"author":{"name":"Editor","@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#\/schema\/person\/4d253075fba315e21394abc7ee23c578"},"headline":"The decaying underbelly of Calabar, Nigeria\u2019s \u2018cleanest city\u2019 – Al Jazeera English","datePublished":"2022-05-22T07:34:09+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-22T07:34:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/"},"wordCount":1349,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/wp-header-logo-2.png","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/","url":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/","name":"The decaying underbelly of Calabar, Nigeria\u2019s \u2018cleanest city\u2019 - Al Jazeera English - City Watch","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/wp-header-logo-2.png","datePublished":"2022-05-22T07:34:09+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-22T07:34:09+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/wp-header-logo-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/wp-header-logo-2.png","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/the-decaying-underbelly-of-calabar-nigerias-cleanest-city-al-jazeera-english\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The decaying underbelly of Calabar, Nigeria\u2019s \u2018cleanest city\u2019 – Al Jazeera English"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#website","url":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/","name":"City Watch","description":"People . Politics . Places","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#organization"},"alternateName":"City Watch Nigeria","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#organization","name":"City Watch","alternateName":"City Watch Nigeria","url":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/CITY-WATCH-logo2-11.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/CITY-WATCH-logo2-11.jpg","width":696,"height":696,"caption":"City Watch"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100083282987806"],"publishingPrinciples":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/privacy-and-policies\/","ownershipFundingInfo":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/privacy-and-policies\/","actionableFeedbackPolicy":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/privacy-and-policies\/","correctionsPolicy":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/privacy-and-policies\/","ethicsPolicy":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/privacy-and-policies\/","diversityPolicy":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/privacy-and-policies\/","diversityStaffingReport":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/privacy-and-policies\/"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#\/schema\/person\/4d253075fba315e21394abc7ee23c578","name":"Editor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7b862c03fcad1baaa9daf4c42cd77c4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7b862c03fcad1baaa9daf4c42cd77c4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Editor"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/citywatch.ng"],"url":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citywatch.ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}