By Michael Olatunji
A public health practitioner Dr Tunde Ayeye has canvassed improved environmental hygiene as panacea to significantly reduce deaths from communicable diseases, such as COVID-19, malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia.
Ayeye said it is unimaginable that COVID-19, the most deadly infection presently plaguing the world, can be prevented by environmental and personal hygiene.
He stated this at the press conference heralding the 40th anniversary celebration of Draiklinas, a commercial and industrial dry cleaning firm at the company’s Gbagada headquarters, in Lagos.
Ayeye, the Vice Chairman of the company said a lot of the ailments and infection plaguing the society can be prevented if more attention is put at achieving cleaner environment and total compliance to necessary hygiene protocols.
He said more than half of the UNICEF projected rate of close to one million children in Nigeria dieing before their fifth birthday, can be prevented by just simply improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene.
To mark the Draiklinas’ 40th anniversary, Ayeye said the company would be embarking on aggressive clean up and save lives advocacy with a series of initiatives aimed at ensuring the cleanliness and improved hygienic condition of the environment.
Part of the initiatives according to him the clean your gutter, clean your street campaign, targeted at the general public while an adopt a street, clean the road, gutter and adopt a garden, plant and maintain a garden would be targeted at corporate organisations in the state.
He announced that the company would be adopting a garden near its headquarters which it will beautify and maintain in conjunction with LASPARK, even as it is working with the CDA to adopt a road and distribute insecticide treated nets to underserved communities.
Other programmes lined up for the anniversary according to Ayeye, a corporate awards which would go to its numerous clients who have stayed with the company in the last 40 years, and a 40 percent anniversary promo which aims at giving its retail customers a 40 percent discount for the first 40 post construction cleaning, fumigation and deep cleaning customers for the next four months, to further cement their patronage.
Earlier, Draiklinas Country Business Director Abrahams Afolabi, said the company which rose as a cottage business 40 years ago, has employed over 10,000 workers in the past four decades with regional offices in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja.
He said the business which started as a dry cleaning firm has grown to become a leader in commercial and industrial cleaning, with plans to get enlisted in the Nigerian Stocks Exchange to become a public owned concern.
Draiklinas Founder Mr Olajide Ayeye, said the success of the trans-generational dry cleaning business goes to the workers who have remained committed to the vision and mandate of being the best in the industry.