Mr. Simon Lalong, Governor of Plateau State.
By Marie-Therese Nanlong
Jos – Open defecation is simply, the act of passing excreta in open air locations instead of in hygienic, covered locations.
Open defecation does not happen only in the rural areas; residents of urban centres engage in it, public tertiary institutions are not spared, uncompleted structures and farmlands are free spaces for open defecation too.
It is no longer news that the Federal Government has identified Kwara and Plateau as the states with the highest population in open defecation.
The Director, Water Quality Control and Sanitation, Ministry of Water Resources, Mr Emmanuel Awe, disclosed this recently in Abuja.
He called for concerted efforts from all Nigerians to do more towards ending open defecation practice.
According to him, Nigeria still ranks the highest country with the highest number of persons defecating openly, saying no fewer than N455 billion was lost annually to poor sanitation and if the country could invest more in sanitation infrastructure, there would be sustainable ways of safe disposal of wastes, business opportunities, and improved productivity for all.
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In Plateau State, open defecation has been identified as a major contributor to rising cases of kidnapping and sexual violence as people especially women and girls search for convenient places to defecate.
Some individuals and non-governmental organization have worked to improve access to improved sanitation and end open defecation but the problem defies all solutions.
Giving an example, a resident of Kwang community in Jos South local government area where the menace is rife, Precious Gar, noted: “This area is a new settlement and very quiet. Often you see boys just walking about aimlessly oozing out odour of cheap drugs; at other times you see groups of women and young girls moving about in the bushes seeking where to defecate. I asked a group of them why they always go about in groups and they said they watch out for one another while defecating so that no one would molest them.
“It is true open defecations encourage rape. Something must be done to end open defecations; all homes should ensure they have a toilet. In the villages, we have cases of people being bitten by snakes while defecating in the bush; this is also a problem. Relevant agencies should work towards ending open defecation.”
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Another resident, Sarah Gabriel added, “The issue is a very serious one, I have a neighbor, a grown man who defecates openly not minding who is passing by. His children too do the same, they mess up the entire area. Uncompleted buildings are not spared.
“What baffles me is that they have toilet in their house and they have well that supplies water but they will not just use the toilet but constitute nuisance to the environment.”
Jennifer Yarima who is the State Chairperson of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ in company of other members of the Union had approached the office of the State Commissioner for Environment, Yakubu Idi seeking synergy on the provision of a safer and cleaner environment for defecation.
She said, “Yes, it is true that open defecation is contributing to rape cases; girls and women are being raped in the bushes when they go to defecate. It is quite frightening the increase in the cases of rape and this happens to young people and older women, and the question is why? We have actually followed up cases of rape even to the point of prosecution of perpetrators.
“We need synergy with different groups, people and organisations to end this menace. I am glad that the attention of governments at different levels is being turned to this; we believe enabling laws would be strengthened and domesticated so that perpetrators would be punished severely.”
However, the Commissioner noted that he knew other factors like robbery, were connected to rape, but the trend where girls and women were raped while defecating openly calls for immediate action to stem the tide.
He said: “Open defecation is a big problem; we looked at it from the health perspective but even armed robbery and rape are linked to it. The Ministry, in conjunction with the Plateau Environmental Protection and Sanitation Agency, PEPSA, has called on the Water Resources department through the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, WASH, which is saddled with the responsibility, to end open defecation.
“The environmental laws we have are not helping the matter because if you take someone to court, it would depend on the discretion of the judge to give judgment. So, we are on the issue of reviewing the environmental laws in the State and we are at 80 per cent completion so that we will be able to enforce sanitary laws. Public toilets are to be built and run on a commercial basis based on environmental laws.
“Some people have toilets but still practise open defecation, claiming that they are used to it. We will work with PEPSA and inspect communities so that we can encourage them to get toilet facilities and curb this ugly trend in the communities.”
Meanwhile, it is on record that over 47 million Nigerians defecate openly and only 14 of 774 local governments in the country are free of open defecation.
Although President Muhammadu Buhari signed Executive Order 009 to tackle open defecation and Nigeria’s Ministry of Water Resources¸ in collaboration with UNICEF and some other key agencies, launched the initiative tagged ‘Nigeria Open-Defecation-Free By 2025: A National Road Map’ there is need for urgent steps to be taken to end the menace which poses obvious environmental, health and economic problems for Nigeria and its nationals.
This practice pollutes the environment and exposes children and adults to critical health problems like diarrhoea and cholera leading to untimely deaths.
