A cross section of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) stakeholders have advocated the involvement of individuals in the drive toward ending open defecation practice in the country.
They told newsmen in Abuja that it was saddening that the non-availability of toilets in public places was the reason for the continued practice of open defecation among Nigerians.
An Environmental Health Officer, Mr Michael Eborh said factors such as the non-availability of toilets in some rented houses were also contributing to the practice.
He, therefore, stressed the need for house owners to construct standard toilets in their buildings.
“Open defecation is on the increase in major parts of the country; how do you explain the rationale behind a house owner building a house for 15 tenants, with only one functional toilet.
“So, what do you expect people to do when they need to answer the call of nature; they do it wherever they feel is conducive, not minding the implications.
“If the well-to-do private individuals can build toilets in strategic public places such as parks, markets and others, it would be used at a fee and properly maintained,’’ Eborh said.
Similarly, Mr Modekai Ifemide, a WASH Officer, said there was the need for all stakeholders to create awareness on the dangers of open defecation.
He appealed for deliberate collaboration among stakeholders to stop open defecation in the society.
The WASH officer urged policy makers to use the mass media as a tool for behaviour change, to enlighten the populace.
Ifemide acknowledged that Nigeria was making progress in some states on hygiene promotion and in the implementation of sanitation programmes.
He suggested that state governments should resolve to sanction erring citizens who defecate in the open.
He maintained that the practice of Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) was an opportunity for individuals to begin to take ownership of scaling up access to basic hygiene promotion practices.
He said the World Bank WASH Diagnostic Report, showed that Nigeria had made steady progress in the provision of safe water, but little progress was being recorded in sanitation and hygiene.