An environmental expert, John Ogunsemore, has raised concern about the spate of open defecation in Lagos, revealing that elderly and pregnant women climb wooden boats to defecate openly.
Ogunsemore, who serves as the Nguvu Change Leader, stated this in commemoration of the World Toilet Day, seeking urgent sanitation intervention in Itun Agan town in the Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos.
“It is unimaginable that in this day and age, the lack of public toilets is forcing residents, be they aged, ill or pregnant, to climb over wooden boats in order to defecate openly in the Lagos Lagoon,” he said.
He appealed to the Chairman of Amuwo Odofin LGA, Valentine Buraimoh, to address the urgent need for public toilets in the community.
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He stressed that the dream of the country becoming Open Defecation Free (ODF)-free remains elusive, citing UNICEF’s report that the country requires approximately 20 million toilets to eliminate open defecation in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
“Nigeria will miss the goal of becoming an open defecation-free country by 2025 if policy-makers do not actively acknowledge and address this issue’s social and environmental implications.
“The absence of sanitation systems and poor hygiene practices perpetuate the cycle of poor health and poverty though local governments are striving to change the narrative.
“In September this year, Kaduna’s nine local government areas were officially validated as Open Defecation Free. In October this year, the ODF milestone was also achieved in Ado and Ohimini LGAs of Benue State,” he said.
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