It is disheartening that a child in Nigeria, according to available data, dies every two and a half minutes from diseases linked to open defecation. Those are silent deaths that are not reported by
the media, neither are they subjects of public debate. SAM EGWU, Kogi, condemns this practice, prevalent in the rural settings of most local government areas of the state, and affects vulnerable children and citizens.
The death of young children due to open defecation is a clear reflection of the danger of open defecation, which is a common practice in many towns and villages in the state, and of course, a grave problem facing the country at large. Oblivious to the gravity of this epidemic, some call it “free to air”defecation.
Sadly, after years of advancement and civilization , the practice of open defecation is still prevalent in our society. This attitude, despite the health hazards it poses to the wellbeing of a community and the bad image it gives the nation, is still inherent in many, who see nothing wrong with relieving themselves along roads in the city without a care in the world.
Recent studies have shown that out of about one billion people that practice open defecation worldwide, about 49 million are Nigerians while 60 million are residents of India. It is however estimated that around 68 million Nigerians are likely to be added between now and 2016, if concerted efforts are not made to arrest the problem.
According to multiple indicator cluster survey (2011), Ekiti State contributes the highest number to open defecation practices with 60.8 percent, followed by Plateau and Oyo States with 56.2 and 54.0 percent respectively. Abia has the lowest rate followed by Lagos at 1.2 and 2.0 percent respectively.
Kano State has a rate of 4.0 percent, while Zamfara, Benue and Kwara have 9.8, 52.5 and 50.5 percent respectively.
While the rating for Kogi State was not listed in the survey, this reporter is aware that the number of people who defecate in the open is high, having widely traveled the length and breadth of the state and with the knowledge of the people’s way of living. Thus, the time to start reversing this ugly trend is now.
Open defecation is one of the fundamental aspects of sanitation that mirrors our under development as a nation and as a people.
It is a terrible practice with various consequences on human health, dignity and security, as well as on the environment and our social and economic development.
The profoundly damaging health and developmental consequences of this menace has often been overshadowed by other aspects of our socio-economic life that is also in decay. Many people seem not to understand that the quality of our lives as human beings is substantially a reflection of the quality of the environment in which we habit. The spread of numerous gastrointestinal and diarrhea diseases is associated with it, whether through direct contact with fecal matter or via tainted food and water.
According to World Health Organization, 88 percent of diarrhea cases are attributable to poor excreta management. Diarrhea, according to the study, is the second largest killer of children below five years, only next to pneumonia. Yet, open defecation practices is common place in our dear state and goes unpunished and largely unreported.
LEADERSHIP Weekend reports that entering Lokoja through Kabawa, the stench that greets travellers and inhabitants of the area from human waste left to litter the river bank through open defecation leaves much to be desired for a state capital which prides itself as a tourist base in the nation. To state that the problem demands unreserved priority in our national life is understating the obvious.
Recently, an article on the need to promote awareness on having toilets in our houses as part of sentitization efforts at a recently concluded World Toilet Day held late last year was published. Comments and calls from across the states on the matter further informs the need to appraise the consequences we are facing and will continue to face as a result of people engaged in open defecation, and the dire need to further enlighten them about its attendant consequences.
Most people attest to the fact that having modern toilets is grossly alien to their houses, and where they exist, the absence of running water makes them difficult to maintain and they soon get out of order for lack of proper maintenance.
The contents of the recently developed national road map for the elimination of open defecation look glowing enough on paper but should be adopted and implemented to the letter by the state government. It is heart warming that states such as Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo and Delta have already developed their respective road maps.
That Kogi state boasts enlightened and educated people is a fact that cannot be denied, but it still remains to be seen, how well the law enforcement agents comply with legislation enforcement, which should check the ugly trend of open defecation. Furthermore, with an administration that has made environmental sanitation and cleanliness a priority in the state, the call for an urgent need to key into the developed national road map has become imperative as it will complement the good work that has begun by the present administration.
While others may argue the fact that our generation grew up under such situations in the villages in the past, one is forced to wonder if things must remain the same in this day of modern technological advancement. The sight of people defecating in nearby bushes, with the little ones having their round by the corner of the compound overlooking mummy’s kitchen is as morally wrong as it is depressing. Without meaningful development in the lives of the citizens over the years in this respect, it is hoped that the state government will work harder in making this shameful lifestyle a thing of the past through the provision of water and sanitary facilities in the state.
As problems related to open defecation gain greater attention, the importance of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) issues, such as access to clean drinking water, must gain broader attention as well. One of the ways to set the ball in motion is for states to establish functional rural water and sanitation agencies that is well positioned to ensure that the target of eliminating open defecation in 2015 is achieved. As for the citizens, we have a responsibility to live a dignified life through observation of toilet etiquette and sanitary revolution.
While commending the Kogi State Government for commencing the building of public toilets in Kabawa area of Lokoja, the onus still lies upon property developers in the state to ensure that they include toilets in the properties they erect, while the government expedites action on the provision of portable running water in the state.
Similarly, the Ministry of Lands and Housing, the Town Planning Development Authority and the Ministry of Health must collaborate to ensure that houses are built according to best standards in line with best practices, while Health inspectors in the Ministry of Health and the Kogi State Waste Management Board must also intensify efforts in monitoring and prosecuting defaulters caught in the act of open defecation. The Ministry of Information and the National Orientation Agency, must equally rise to the occasion by ensuring that people are better enlightened on the dangers associated with open defecation.
An outbreak of an epidemic occasioned by open defecation cannot be imagined, especially with the lean resources available to the state. The watchword therefore is to gird our loins by being proactive as a stitch in time, in this case, will save the state’s population!
Photo Credit: SAM EGWU
Source: LEADERSHIP
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