The Federal Government has announced that the nation must construct one million public toilets in the six geo-political zones in order to eliminate open defecation.

Minister of State for Environment, Ishaq Salako, revealed this information, noting that approximately 48 million Nigerians are still practicing open defecation despite the approaching deadline to end the practice. Salako also highlighted that more than 159 million Nigerians do not have access to hand washing facilities.

To address the issue, the government plans to build one million public toilets in the country’s six geo-political zones, as there are currently only a little over 5,000 public toilets available.

Additionally, the minister mentioned that the Ministry of Environment has developed the National Environmental Sanitation Policy and guidelines on sewage and excreta management to provide guidance on proper disposal of human waste and combat open defecation.

Salako emphasized, “According to the roadmap, 43, 000 toilets are required across the country. But currently, the reality is that 48 million people are practising open defecation nationwide, thereby requiring a minimum of one million toilets across the country. As of today, 5,004 toilets have been constructed across the country in public places.

“When the President signed the order, it came with an approval of N63.6bn to be spread over the six years when the programme to end open defecation would last but to date, what has been received is not up to an annual allocation.”

In a bid to tackle the issue, the minister encouraged the deployment of sanitation health inspectors and recommended that the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency be activated to fulfill its legal obligations.

“I want to assure you that NESREA is the police of the environment and without the police, you cannot enforce. Without enforcing them, the laws are toothless. We need more empowerment for the police of the environment which is NESREA.

“I believe strongly that if we can do that, we can enforce to ensure that the state, local governments and average Nigerians fully comply with the laws and policies of the Federal Government guiding defecation,” he mentioned.

Yakubu Baba, the Head of Sanitation Inspection at the Environmental Health Council of Nigeria, proposed the creation of a National Environmental Sanitation Development Agency to oversee national sanitation efforts and combat the challenge of open defecation.

Addressing the issue of open defecation, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, highlighted the increasing prevalence of this practice in Nigeria, emphasizing the risks it poses to millions of Nigerians.

Speaking through the Minority Leader of the House, Kingsley Chinda, Abbas stressed the importance of ensuring that all Nigerians have access to essential facilities that promote good health and overall well-being.

Additionally, Chairman of the House Committee on Environment, Pondi Gbabojor, urged governments at various levels to promptly implement measures to tackle the problem of open defecation.

“As we speak today, there is no agency that coordinates sanitation in the country and this is why I am calling on the legislature to look at the possibility of creating a National Environmental Sanitation Development Agency that would coordinate sanitation at the national level,” he advised.

He stated, “We urge the government at all levels and private individuals to embark on aggressive rural water projects that will ensure that each community is provided with portable water and functioning toilet facilities

“We also urge the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and other relevant agencies to give proper sensitization on open defecation across the communities.

“We urge the executive arm to galvanize state governments to key into the National Action Plan for the Revitalization of Nigeria’s Water supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Sector.”

He also urged the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to collaborate with State Ministries in charge of water resources and the sanitation agency of the federation to fulfill the requirements to access the available $700 million from the World Bank’s Sustainable Urban and Rural Water and Sanitation Hygiene fund.

It has been reported that Nigeria is not on course to achieve the global Sustainable Development Goal sanitation target and unfortunately lags behind other countries.

Nigeria was ranked by the World Health Organization as the 5th country with the highest practice of open defecation, with India having the highest number of 626 million people engaging in this practice.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, 48 million Nigerians, which is about 23% of the population, still practice open defecation.

UNICEF stated that within this group, the North-West region has 11%, North-East 17%, North-Central 47%, South-West 24%, South-South 23%, and South-East 23% engaging in open defecation.

A report by UNICEF released on November 19, 2021, indicated that there has been minimal progress in Nigeria’s fight against open defecation.

Shockingly, the country loses an estimated $3 billion annually due to poor sanitation resulting from the use of unsanitary or shared toilets and open defecation.

Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, during a speech in Abuja at the National Workshop on Safely Managed Sanitation, expressed concern that with only six years left until the SDG target deadline of 2030, there is insufficient progress towards achieving the global SDG sanitation target of safely managed services and Nigeria is sadly among those far behind.

He Emphasized,” In Nigeria, only about half of the population (46 per cent) has access to basic sanitation services and about a quarter are practising open defecation, with only 18 per cent of the population having access to safely managed services.

“Achieving the SDG target 6.2 will, therefore, require us to make five times the current progress and triple our investment in the sector.”

He, further stated that the government is working hard to tackle the identified concerns, adding, “The Federal Government is committed to the actualisation of the SDG 6 target for Sanitation and our commitment is motivated by the realisation that it would contribute significantly to the achievement of our national developmental goals and the key priority areas of this government.”