“Only Government Fit Clean Our Streets” — Lege Claps Back at VDM’s Ratel Cleanup Drive, Nigerians React 😭💔🫵🏽

In what is already becoming one of the most talked-about civic exchanges on social media this week, popular Lagos-based leader and community voice known as Lege has fired a stern warning to followers of the social-media activist VeryDarkMan (VDM) and his Ratel Movement — telling them bluntly: “Don’t allow anybody to sweep your area for you… Except only government, only govt has the right to come clean your area for you.” The message comes amid a nationwide cleanup initiative launched by VDM, and it has sparked shock, laughter and heated debate across Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

VDM, whose real name is Martins Vincent Otse, announced in September 2025 that starting Saturday, November 29, his Ratel Movement will begin monthly community-service activities across Nigeria — sweeping streets, unblocking drainages, cleaning public spaces, rehabilitating schools and carrying out other grassroots civic works.

In a now-viral video shared on Instagram and Facebook, Ratel members were shown gearing up for cleanup exercises in several neighbourhoods. The mood was hopeful — many praised the plan as a grassroots push to address environmental decay and improve hygiene in neglected communities.

But Lege’s reaction turned heads. In a separate video shared on his social-media page, he delivered a searing message to Ratel supporters:

> “Don’t allow anybody to sweep your area for you. If you see any of them, chase them away… Except only government, only govt has the right to come clean your area for you.”

The blunt pronouncement — delivered with emphasis and emotional weight — caused instant uproar online. Many reacted with laughter, others with disbelief, and some with anger. Memes and jokes exploded across social feeds: the idea that a grassroots volunteer group might be “chased away” for offering to clean the environment struck many as absurd — especially given how long many Nigerian neighbourhoods have suffered from neglect.

Supporters of VDM were quick to respond. On Instagram and Facebook, some users insisted that if the government fails to clean up communities — despite taxes collected — then ordinary citizens must step up. “If you are not government, but your environment dey smell, abi make you wait till next election finish before something happen?” asked one Ratel supporter. Others claimed Lege’s position betrayed complacency and disrespect for citizens doing real work.

Critics of the cleaning drive, however, argue that Lege may have a point: they warn that unregulated cleanup by volunteer groups could backfire. With no proper coordination, proper waste-disposal system, or long-term plan for environmental maintenance, such efforts might end up as cosmetic attempts rather than sustainable change. Some also questioned the motives behind the Ratel Movement, given VDM’s history of controversies and previous clashes with the law.

Yet VDM has insisted that the Ratel effort is strictly apolitical. He proclaimed that the cleanup programme is meant to activate young Nigerians — to shift them from online activism into visible, real-life impact. “We are shutting down this country not with violence but with impact,” he said in the announcement video.

In explaining his motivation, VDM recounted a moment on the bustling Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos where he witnessed people defecating by the roadside — an incident he said crystallised the urgency of civic responsibility and environmental awareness.

As news of Lege’s rebuttal spread, a flurry of reactions emerged online. Some supported Lege, claiming only government agencies have the authority — and responsibility — to handle sanitation and public-space maintenance. Others saw his stance as elitist and detached from reality, arguing that citizens suffering from neglect cannot wait on a government that has consistently failed them.

In some corners of social media, the exchange between Lege and VDM has been framed not just as a clash of opinions, but as a microcosm of bigger debates in Nigeria today: about civic duty, accountability, grassroots activism, governmental failure, and the power of youth mobilization outside traditional institutions.

Already, the conversation is raising questions: If a movement like Ratel proves effective — cleaning neighbourhoods, clearing drainages, restoring neglected public spaces — could it force formal public-service agencies to step up? Or will such civic initiatives always remain limited by lack of resources and structural backing?

What is certain, however, is that the debate has stirred a collective conversation about the role of ordinary Nigerians in shaping their own communities. Lege’s dramatic call to “chase away” volunteer cleaners has awakened a wider public reflection: Is civic action only legitimate when carried out by the government — or does responsibility lie also with citizens, especially when government neglect persists?

As the first Ratel cleanup day on November 29 approaches, all eyes will be on the streets — to see whether volunteers show up, whether their efforts stick, and whether Nigerian youths can challenge assumptions about who should clean our communities. The clash between Lege and VDM may well mark the beginning of a deeper reckoning about civic engagement and environmental responsibility in Nigeria — and who gets to decide when streets, drainages, and schools are cleaned.

Regardless of side taken, one thing is true: the conversation is no longer just online. It’s about real spaces — the gutters, the streets, the drainages, the schools — and about who will take responsibility for them.