Concerns over disease outbreaks as open defecation widely practiced in Yobe capital

There are concerns that Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State, will suffer outbreaks of diseases like cholera and typhoid fever as many residents who lack toilet facilities resort to open defecation.

Poor sanitation is a major contributor to disease transmission globally, but the use of toilets and washing of hands with soap are key to keeping children, families and communities safe from disease outbreaks.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) says Nigeria will need to build no fewer than 3.9 toilets annually to meet the end of open defecation practice for the 2025 target.

Lack of access to proper sanitation facilities has resulted in a significant prevalence of open defecation in Nigerian towns and cities.

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However, capital cities have persistently faced the challenge of open defecation, just like Damaturu.

Daily Trust gathered that residents of Gwange, Sharuri, Babbar Tsangaya and Abbari (behind the Damaturu emir’s palace, among many other areas in the city, reeked of faeces as residents defecate on refuse dumps and in gutters.

Comrade Ba’ana Damaturu, a resident of Gwange, said that open defecation was a major challenge they were facing in the area for over a decade.

He said, “I was born here and grew up in this area. There is nothing that I don’t know about this Gwange. This refuse dump has been increasing daily, and it has made this road inaccessible. We made complaints to the local and state governments but nothing has been done.

‘‘Many children, almajiri and adults who have no toilets in their homes have turned the dump into a toilet. If you come here at 8pm you will see more than 20 people defecating; and the worst part of it is that nobody is saying anything.

‘‘During the rainy season residents suffer a lot because water washes the waste into homes. Not only that, you can hardly sleep in your house as a result of the suffocating smell coming from the dump.’’

The problem of Gwange residents is similar to that of Sharuri residents.

Charemi Bulama Abba, a resident of Sharuri, said they had tried their best to curtail the issue at their level but that all had been fruitless as authorities were not doing the needful to face the challenges.

Abba said, “We don’t have any option that is why we cannot stop these boys from defecating here. People are still passing on this street despite these faeces but no one can stop them.

“Some of these children who are defecating here are not known to us; we only see them. There was a time when a group of youths cleaned this place and started playing football, but rainfall came and water occupied the place and after the rainy season open defecation resumed.”

Daily Trust gathered that most of the people who are defecating openly in Damaturu city are either children, almajiris or single persons who have no toilets.

When Daily Trust contacted one of the teachers of the almajiri in Damaturu, he alleged that the government was not serious about constructing toilets for their students.

Malam Jibrin Abdullahi, a Tsangaya teacher (almajiris teacher), said the best way to address the issue was to construct toilets for the students.

He further said, ‘‘People are defecating here; it’s not only our almajiri who are defecating here. If you stay here for a long time you will see them (adults) defecating here daily. I used to pursue them away when I saw them defecating.

‘‘Some of our students used to defecate here while some would go to public conveniences (commercial toilets) to defecate. But we believe that it is the responsibility of the government to build toilets for the public.

‘‘So, we are calling on the government as a matter of emergency to come to our rescue by building toilets for these students. If the government builds these toilets, the issue of open defecation that people are complaining about will be addressed.”

Another Tsangaya teacher, Mallam Hassan Garba, said there was no doubt that some of their students were defecating openly, but that it was because they had no option.

He said, “Yes, many people are blaming our students for open defecation; we can’t deny it. No doubt some of them are defecating openly because we don’t have toilets and the government did not provide any alternative to them.

“My greatest fear is that issues like cholera and diarrhea may spread if toilets are not constructed.’’

Daily Trust correspondent sent a text message to the General Manager of the Yobe State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA) but there was no reply.