"Onitsha is very dirty. I don't think government is doing anything in the state to stop that," Anaekwe told CNN. "The rate at which people are dumping refuse inside the gutters is very alarming."
Anaekwe said he has always hated the dirty environment and has been searching for ways to tackle the waste issues in Onitsha.
The idea came to Anaekwe during his National Youth Service year, a compulsory one year development program university graduates in Nigeria are required to do.
As part of projects focused on the UN SDG (Sustainable Development Goals), he taught college students on the dangers of trash.
He decided to replicate a similar initiative in his hometown Onitsha and was able to (albeit with some resistance) convince young men to join him and clean the blocked gutters and drainages.