World Toilet Day: 48m Nigerians still practice open defecation- Minister

By AKOR SYLVESTER-Abuja

As the federal government intensified efforts to reduce outbreak of epidemic due to poor sanitation, the Minister of Environment, Mallam Balarabe Lawal Abbas has said that over forty eight (48) million Nigerians are still practicing open defecations in the Country.

Lawal who stated this at a press briefing to commemorate the World Toilet Day in Abuja yesterday, said, it was high time the country eradicated the menace to avoid incessant outbreak of diseases that could endanger the lives of Nigerians.

He called on all and sundry to ensure this happened without any further delay, while reinterating government’s effort to tackle open defication.

“The issue of toilets and open defecation World over, is something that can never be overemphasized due to the characters of those involved.

“Sometimes, people just use anywhere they see for defecations without a recourse to the consequences that may follow.

The United Nations General Assembly designation on November 19th, which mark the date as the World Toilet Day to celebrate toilets and raise awareness of the billions of people living without access to safely manage sanitation.

The Minister l said, many people still use the bush and water bodies as their regular means for excreta disposal, adding that many institutions, public and private do not have sanitary facilities, and where they exist they are either not functioning or misused.

According to him,  “most urban areas do not have sewerage systems and safe collection of sewage. Therefore, disposal becomes a huge challenge as many of the water bodies including rivers and streams become a repository for sewage and wastewater.

He added that, the Federal Ministry of Environment in collaboration with critical stakeholders has reviewed and validated the 2005 National Environmental Sanitation Policy including its policy guidelines on safe excreta and sewage disposal, which will soon be presented to the Federal Executive Council for approval.

“The Federal Ministry of Environment is also continuing with its community-based intervention on the control of open defecation programme as well as the Clean and Green Programme aimed among others at promoting the provision of safe and adequate toilets across the country, particularly in public places and ensuring proper excreta management. Modern public toilets have been provided in communities and markets across the Federation under these programmes.

“I wish to also use this opportunity to inform you that issues of open defecation in Nigeria will no longer be business as usual as the Federal Ministry of Environment will henceforth deploy all its regulatory framework to ensure adequate enforcement of sanitation laws in the country. I therefore call on all Environmental Health Officers/Sanitary inspectors across all levels of government to step up their routine sanitary inspection of premises in their various jurisdictions and ensure that everyone everywhere in Nigeria has access to safe toilets.

“Sanitation is a human right, and access to these services is critical to people’s health, business and the integrity of the environment. Your positive actions, however small, will help improve toilets and sanitation systems and protect our environment”, he stated