Ajeromi-Ifelodun Gets Ecofriendly Toilets
Some communities in Ajeromi/ Ifelodun Local Council Area (LCAs) in Lagos State have been provided with 20 units of eco-friendly enviro-loo toilets by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to stop open defecation in the area.
The Senior Special Assistant, New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), Lagos State, Mr Ademola Amure, who stated this at the inauguration of the facility in the slum communities, said it was part of the state government’s efforts to improve sanitation, especially in rural areas.
Amure said that about 119 million Nigerians lack adequate toilets, which make 50 million of them to defecate in the open and that Lagos State share a large chunk of this number due to its population.
According to him, “the environmentally friendly solution is a partnership among the state government, UNICEF, NEPAD and Enviro-Loo to address the sanitation concerns of the people, because eradicating open defecation is government’s priority.”
He said lack of water supply and power to manage a conventional toilet was the reason the government thought outside the box to find solution to the problem by providing the eco-friendly and water-free facility. Amure, said Nigerians treat the issue of environment with levity, adding that this has made the government to intensify awareness campaign on the danger of poor sanitation and open defecation, while also improving infrastructure.
“The government is also involved in cleaning of canals, covering drains, building public toilets, developing new sanitation policies and creating environment for donors to partner with us,” he said.
Amure, said Lagos State was sitting on a high water table with limited access to electricity and pipe borne water in its rural areas, hence it deemed it necessary to adopt new alternatives to complement its efforts after considering all the potential options.
He noted that the peculiarity of the communities where the toilets were situated informed the choice because of lack of electricity, water and toilets as well as its terrain.
He charged well-meaning people and organised private sector to partner with NEPAD to expand the project to other areas in the state.
Dr Niyi Olaleye of UNICEF, Lagos, said the journey towards helping Lagos State meets the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) started in 2010.
According to him, the state was doing well in education, among other but there were disparities in the growth in some areas. This, he said made his organisation engaged in investment case on how the state was distributing services.
A spokesman for the communities, Mr Rasak Olaniyan thanked the state government and its partners for the gesture, while stressing that the problem of open defecation was pronounced before UNICEF came in February last year.
“Now I think open defecation in our area has reduced to less than 50 per cent. It trained us on the management of the environment as partners. We have water. There is waste/ sanitation and hygiene programme,” Olaniyan said.
The state’s Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Olutoyin Ayinde said discipline was key to achieving anything.
According to him, success depends on discipline, adding that it will take self-control to stop open defecation.
Ayinde also called on the people to take ownership of the facilities and ensure they were well-managed. “People who live in the urban areas are not better than those in the rural areas. They only need to change their orientation.”