ODF Nigeria: Lessons from India

Everybody defecates and very few people ponder where the excreta go. Most people wipe or wash or do both and walk away never looking back. Those who do it in the open pick new spots from time to time. The fundamental question that should bother everyone is where the sewage goes and where does the drinking water come from? Can they mix? Do they mix? This is what excreta management in the context of open defecation is all about. This is why it is important for the federal government to lead the campaign for open defecation-free Nigeria by containing the micro units of faeces finding their way back to the dining table. Nigeria must learn from India. Writes

Like India, Nigeria has vast lands and a huge population that is put at close to 200 million people. Everyone either squats or sits to do their business, most times oblivious of where the waste left behind goes. Only those who engage in open defecation are compelled to choose different spots to avoid stepping on fresh ones until it is safe to return to a previous spot after the waste biodegrades.

This unsafe open defecation is practiced by 50 per cent of Nigerians, according to official data. In a 2016 document, ‘Making Nigeria Open-DefecationFree By 2025: A National Road Map’, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources says, “Nigeria is among the nations in the world with the highest number of people practicing open defecation, estimated at over 46 million people. The practice has had a negative effect on the populace, especially children, in the areas of health and education and had contributed to the country’s failure to meet the MDG target.”