Environment
Dangers Of Open Defecation
The story was told of a man in Yakkur Local Government Area of Cross River State who was mistakenly shot dead by a hunter while defecating in a nearby forest.
The story was a reflection of the dangers, the society faces everyday from open defecation. It would be noted that by the first of October, 2019, India will exit its ranking as a nation with the largest number of persons practising open defecation.
The planned exist of India will create a void that will be filled by no less a nation than Nigeria.
Nigeria is currently second in ranking to India which occupies the number one spot in the world as far as open defeacation is concerned.
Critics say that the up- coming development will not only dent the image of the country abroad, but add to her misery index locally.
Statistics made available to newsmen at a recent National Media Dialogue on Sanitation organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Calabar, Cross River State, shows that Nigeria with a population of over 200 million people has a sizeable number of her citizens practising open defecation.
According to the report, one in three Nigerians has no access to basic drinking water, while 47 million defecate in the open.
The report also shows that 33 million Nigerians use unimproved toilets, while on average, people living in rural areas have access to only 4 litres of water per capita each day.
It shows that only 34 per cent of schools and 12 per cent of hospitals have access to basic sanitation.
It would be noted that out of the 774 Local Government Areas in the country, only 13 have been certified Open Defecation Free (ODF).
Six of these, however are in Cross River State, while in Rivers State, Opobo/Nkoro and Akuku-Toru Local Government Areas which keyed into the programme are yet to attain the ODF status.
In Cross River State, the six local government areas are Obaniku, Yakkur and Ikom.
The rest are Bekwaru, Boki and Yalla Local Government Areas.
Sources further informed The Tide that the dangers associated with the situation were responsible for the current move by the government to end open defecation by 2025.
It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari, recently launched the “Clean-Up Nigeria: Use The Toilet Campaign, with the mandate to mobilise Nigerians towards attaining the status of Open Defecation Free nation by 2025.
Information also revealed that the government has set aside N10 billion to kick start the campaign
Speaking at the National Media Dialogue on Sanitation: Clean-Up Nigeria: Use The Toilet Campaign in Calabar, the Head, Child Rights Information Bureau, Federal Ministry of Information, Abuja, Mr. Olumide Osanyipeju said that the government is determined to get 47 million Nigerians to use the toilets by 2025.
Osanyipeju however said that to achieve the target, there must be vigorous campaign for behavioural change among Nigerians.
According to him, the nation will be further embarrassed when a new ranking is done this year, and described the Clean-Up Nigeria: Use The Toilet Campaign as timely.
He listed the dangers of open defecation to include poor nutrition, and adverse health conditions; “open defecation is dangerous as it spreads Cholera, Typhoid and other diseases.
“There is need for awareness on impact of open defecation in Nigeria”, he said.
He said that the media dialogue was to create awareness on the Clean-Up Nigeria: Use The Toilet Campaign” with a view to changing people’s behaviour on sanitation and health.
A communication specalist at UNICEF, Geoffrey Njoku said that if nothing is done about it, the situation will further compound the misery index of the country.
Njoku said that it was against this background that UNICEF is working with relevant organisations to put sanitation on the front burner of national discourse.
He said that the National Media Dialogue on Sanitation with the theme: Clean-Up Nigeria: Use The Toilet in Calabar was the third in the series organised by UNICEF round the country.
He described as terrible, India exiting as the number one ranked nation in the world by October, adding that it is the responsibility of every Nigerian to ensure that the country moves away from where it is now to Open Defecation Free nation by 2025.
He however added that atitudinal change is needed to achieve it.
Speaking on the overview of “Clean-Up Nigeria: Use The Toilet Campaign and how communities become ODF, a Water Sanitation and Health (WASH) specialist at UNICEF, Bioye Ogunjobi said that time has come for critical minds across the country to be engaged with a view to solving the open defecation problem by 2025.
Ogunjobi said that, the tendency is for everyone to work towards checking open defecation in rural communities, adding that the campaign was to increase access to improve sanitation especially in the rural areas.
He said that the priorities are to eliminate open defecation by 2025, bring water sanitation and hygiene to disadvantaged communities in the rural areas, improving access to safe water and sanitation in schools and health care facilities as well as create awareness and promote sanitation and hygiene in society.
Also speaking, Dr Nicholas Igwe of Zenith Water Project Limited said that the private sector must play critical role in the attainment of ODF Nigeria by 2025.
Igwe, who spoke on the link between Rural and Urban Sanitation: What Can the Private Sector Do? said that the private sector must mobilise resources to build toilet facilities in all public places in the country.
The expert also called for decentralisation of sewage disposal system in the country.
Just as the experts have said, the risk associated with open defecation is common in our communities.
Stories have been told of deaths caused by snake bites as a result of open defecation and accidental shooting of persons who practise open defecation in the bush by hunters.
The latest is the increasing number of rape cases in the communities caused by open defecation.
The dangers are enormous and the society must rise up to check the trend.
President, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mrs Margaret Oguntala, has inaugurated the construction of 18 units residential terrace in highbrow Alausa area of Lagos toward bridging the nation’s shelter gap.
Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation has launched the 1GOV Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS) to enhance digital governance and improve service delivery.
The launch, held on Thursday in Abuja, marks the ministry’s transition from paper-based operations to a smart, integrated and technology-driven work environment.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, said the deployment aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
Utsev said the system would improve data management, streamline workflows and strengthen transparency and accountability across the ministry.
According to him, the ECMS will enhance productivity, preserve institutional memory and reduce operational costs in the ministry.
Launching the platform, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, said the initiative is a major step in public sector reform.
She said the ministry’s mandate affects Nigerians through water supply, sanitation, irrigation, river basin development and climate resilience programmes.
Walson-Jack said the 1GOV ECMS enables secure digital records management, automated workflows, electronic approvals and real-time collaboration across MDAs.
She added that the deployment aligns with the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025 and the directive for full digitalisation by December 2025.
“Effective governance cannot afford delays caused by manual bottlenecks or avoidable inefficiencies,” she said.
She directed that all official correspondence in the ministry must henceforth be processed through approved digital registry channels.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Dr Emanso Umobong, said the system would eliminate workflow inefficiencies and improve service delivery.
She urged staff to fully adopt the platform and engage in continuous capacity building.
Research shows that local communities and citizens living at the grassroots, particularly women, are directly impacted by the environmental degradation, flooding and others that result from these manifestations.
In the light of this, non-governmental organisation, Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development (EUFORDe), has held a forum for women and other members of oil impacted communities, tagged: ‘Voices from the Grassroots,’ and aimed at building their resilience and mitigation efforts against climate change and environmental degradation
The forum, with the theme: ‘Building Resilience for Oil Spill Impacted Ahoada Communities,’ organised with support from Global Green Grants, was held in Ahoada Community, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, on December 5, 2025.
Executive Director of Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development, Mercy Elemchukwu-James, said women are at the forefront of efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change and environmental degradation.
The event, therefore, was “designed for community women impacted by oil spills, flooding and other environmental degradation,” she said.
Community women were enlightened by resource persons on new opportunities for sustainable agricultural practices and water management techniques that cushion the impact of oil spills.
Lectures were also delivered on Self-care and Trauma-care, with focus on physical and mental health of the population, and increasing access to health-related resources and services; as well as on Food security and women’s critical role in decision making in oil spill and flood situations in communities
Elemchukwu-James pointed out that the event created a forum for stakeholders, civil society actors and others to dialogue on measures at advancing inclusive and sustainable livelihoods of community women.
She stressed the need for collaborative efforts towards achieving mitigation efforts, while underscoring EUFORDe’s commitment to “fostering partnerships as a critical driver for achieving a healthy community and sustainable development.”
Elemchukwu-James described participants’ design of ‘Community Resilience Plan,’ to manage and combat environmental degradation and crises, as part of achievements recorded at the event.
The forum also witnessed the launching of EUFORDs’ Center For Resilience and Rights.
“This center is established to build resilience as Trauma-Care for victims of environmental degradation, support for survivors of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and a platform where victims of environmental injustice and other GBV cases can seek redress,” Elemchukwu-James said.
Participants celebrated the milestones achieved and charted a path toward greater impact in the coming years. They also described the event as “an inspiring and transformative experience.”
Elemchukwu-James said the awareness creation workshop “reaffirms EUFORDe’s mission to create an equitable society in which the rights and capacities of women, youth, children and underprivileged are integrated in the socio-economic planning and development of communities, for the attainment of equity and peace.
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