Environment
Experts Seek Action Against Open Defecation
Health and environmen
tal experts have called on governments across the country to take urgent steps to curb the menace of open defecation prevalent in the country.
In a nationwide survey they said this was necessary to guard against outbreak of diseases especially as the rainy season set in.
Department of Public Health, University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), Dr Okon Udom, told our correspondent that open defecation should be discouraged by all governments.
He said open defecation was the major cause of diarrhoea and cholera.
He, therefore, suggested the building of toilets in public places and street corners.
Executive Director, Community Health, Education and Development in Africa, a Non-Governmental Organisation, Dr Cliff Okafor, said open defecation was a major cause of hand-to-mouth disease.
Okafor, a medical practitioner, also said that open defecation was also a terrible source of pollution.
“When people defecate in open places, flies perch on it and bring it back to our food, plates and homes.
“This is why we have high cases of typhoid, dysentery in this country.
“In open defecation, hook worm gets to the ground and gets back to the individual through the foot and other parts of the body, especially, intestine,” he said.
Okafor said that enlightenment campaigns should be carried out in schools, to educate pupils and students on the dangers of open defecation.
“There is need to carry out public education in our schools. We should educate our children to impress on the older people to stop the habit.
“I am sure this will assist to stop the bad habit among the older people,” he said.
Okafor also called for regular water supply and drinking of good water by the people.
He said that such would stop water-borne diseases in the country.
In addition, he said, such facilities must have adequate running water and called on governments at all levels to provide public lavatories and running water in all public institutions, to avoid outbreak of diseases among citizens especially in children.
The survey also revealed that most people indulged in open defecation due to lack of toilet facilities in their houses or work place.
Similarly, there is a dearth of toilets in public places in most major cities and towns across the country.
A 24-year-old mechanic in Port Harcourt, Mr Kingsley Ubah, said that he indulged in open defecation because there was no toilet in his rented apartment.
“Where I live in Diobu, Port Harcourt, there is no toilet in the compound. The tenants resort to self-help by going to other homes, while we defecate in the open near our workshop.
“I am aware it is a bad habit and not environment friendly, but we call on government to ensure that every house has a toilet,” he said.
Also Mr Michael Etim said that most travellers coming into the city with nowhere to stay usually defecate into drains, cellophane bags and on roadside, as there were no public toilets.
“Most people coming into the capital city from rural areas regard open defecation as normal practice.
“Public toilet is necessary at all strategic locations in the metropolis to minimise occurrence of open defecation,” Etim said.
He added that in most rural settings and coastal communities, open defecation in the nearby bush or river bank was a normal culture.
Another respondent, Miss Ekaette Bassey, said that most landlords in cluster areas of the town did not have good toilet system for their tenants.
Bassey said that most residential buildings had over 20 tenants with only one toilet to serve all of them.
She observed that in such compound, people would resort to defecating openly as the toilet facility was insufficient for the occupants.
A nurse, Mrs Tessy Alaba, said, “People who live in densely populated areas and over-populated apartments such as ‘face-me-I-face-you’ are rated high among those that practice open defecation.
“The number of toilet facilities is not adequate for the great number of people living there.
“Again, some houses that were built many years ago may either not have modern toilet facilities or have toilet facilities that are not functional or filled up.
“This compels the occupants to seek alternative defecating places, and this is where the issue of awareness comes in.
“Many people may not be aware of the implications of defecating anyhow and anywhere; more so, some people may know but do not care,’’ Alaba said.
The Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Babatunde Adejare, late in 2015, said that the ministry had concluded work on the Master Plan for the provision of public toilets, all over Lagos.
“There is need for provision of public toilets throughout Lagos State, and not just to be restricted to the Parks and Gardens alone.
“The Master Plan contains the sites and locations for public toilets within and around the metropolis.
Adejare said that the ministry would also encourage market women and shop owners to provide mobile toilets for their use, and for the use of their customers.
Similarly, the Jigawa Ministry for Local Government and Community Development said that it was collaborating with Non-Governmental Organisations and other Development Partners to discourage open defecation in the state.
Alhaji Yakubu Auyo, the Director of Primary Health Care in the Ministry, who spoke on behalf of the Commissioner, Alhaji Ahmed Muhammad, told NAN in Dutse that the ministry had established Water and Sanitation Departments in all the 27 local government areas of the state, with a view to ensuring good sanitation of the environment.
He said that N200,000 was earmarked for each of the councils for the monthly sanitation exercise, to ensure a clean environment and campaign against open defecation.
According to him, the council had constructed water and sanitation facilities in the local government areas, to prevent open
defecation in markets, motor parks and places of worship.
The commissioner said that UNICEF was supporting the ministry under the State Hygiene and Water Sanitation in Nigeria (SHAWN) working in some communities to discourage open defecation.
“The organisation also taught the communities how to construct pit latrines.”
In Maiduguri, the Borno State Environmental Protection Agency (BOESPA) said it would employ no fewer than 5,000 additional youths as street vanguards, to check the menace of open defecation and environmental abusers.
The Sole Coordinator of the Agency, Alhaji Nasiru Surundi, told NAN in Maiduguri that the gesture was part of the measures adopted by BOSEPA to discourage such abusers of the environment.
Surundi said that N600 million had been spent on procurement of high-quality sanitation equipment to enhance
Some residents of Port Harcourt and its environs have reacted to the impending flooding in parts of the country, including Rivers state.
It would be recalled that the federal government last week predicted flooding in some states in the country, including Rivers State.
A cross session of residents who spoke to The Tide on the issue said time has come for residents to be careful about the way they managed their waste, especially at this time of the year.
According to them, people must avoid blocking water channels as well as indiscriminate dumping of waste into water channels.
Speaking with The Tide, an Environmentalist, Elder Blessing Jackson Tiko, called for caution by residents of Port Harcourt and its environs
Tiko who was a former deputy operational officer Phalga Environmental Sanitation Taskforce, said people must be conscious of the way and manner that they manage their waste.
“We know that we have the rain and if you watch it is coming especially this month of July,it would rain and rain and rain
“We have to be very conscious of how we manage our environmental system, the way we throw our waste and how we evacuate it so that every where will be open for water to move freely
“Water doesn’t want blockage, water wants free flow, ’he said
Tiko urged state governments to liaise with the federal government and development agencies to dredge and open up river channels to enable Water move freely.
He particularly called on the Niger Delta Basine Development Authority and the Niger Delta Development Commission to liaise with state governments in the quest to end flooding in the states.
Also speaking, Mrs. Alice. A. Alabo a trader at Mile 3 Port Harcourt, urged the state government to do something on the constant flooding at the Abuja bypass in Mile 3 Diobu, Port Harcourt,
She said the bypass is always flooded at every little rainfalls stressing that something must be done about it.
Alabo also told The Tide Correspondents that the Abuja bypass has no receptacles and called on the management of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency to provide receptacles for the people, to ensure proper waste disposal in the area.
“The government should provide us with receptacles for us to properly place our waste which is causing the flooding in the area.
A shop owner Dickey, Livia Marko lemanted the incessant flooding along the Abuja bypass, adding that the situation is affecting their businesses.
“We have been begging the Rivers State Government and the local government to come to our aid.
“The Ego Line Progressive Union contributes N10,000 every year to make sure that we evacuate the drainage.
“We called the Hausa boys to come and clean from the beginning to the end of the tunnel which leads to the Interwoba
“So immediately after each rainfall within 10 minutes it will dry otherwise we cannot stay in our shop.
“I am begging the government to come to our rescue, even if they want to open the gutter or canal. It will help in preventing the flooding or they should clean the gutters starting from Ikwerre Road to the Interwoba axis”, he said
On his part,Mr. Ajaka Olawa, lamented that the flooding in Timber area by Abuja bypass area is so terrible that no businesses can easily be carried on in the area.
He blamed it on the continuous blockage of drainages
. “I can’t remember the last time the government came to clean the drainage, so when it rains we find it difficult to stay here.
“Some of our shops are wet because of the flooding. And if the rain falls heavily, we pack our goods. If not. they get damaged, and I am expecting this message to reach the government for them to do something about it”
“The people, the government gives the job are not being followed up, that’s why the road is still looking bad,
“The government is trying, but they should put more effort to make sure that the jobs are being carried out.
Also, Mr. Chukuma said, during the flooding along Abuja bypass by Timber, no activities take place.
He said that if rain falls, either little or heavy, none can use the road because the road will be inundated by water. Sometimes it takes two to three days for the water to dry.
According to him, eight years ago, the former governor was here to see things for himself, but nothing happened till he left office.
By: Victoria Gilbert / Ossia Victory
Following the rising impact of toxic waste in the Niger Delta communities in Nigeria, an Ecological Think Tank, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, HOMEF, has urged oil-producing communities in the region to monitor their environment and report incidents of pollution or other environmental hazards in real time to appropriate authorities.
The Project Manager, Communities and Culture, HOMEF, Cadmus Atake gave the advice last Friday during a Community Environmental Monitoring Training for the people of Nembe, Town-Brass in Bayelsa and Eastern Obolo, Akwa Ibom States respectively which was held in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
Atake said though the extractive activities of oil companies have impacted negatively on the communities, the people still have a role to play in protecting the environment by not throwing plastics in the water bodies or engaging in activities inimical to the environment.
He said, “The purpose is to train the people on how they can monitor their environment that has been impacted by extractive activities, for them to observe the changes that occur in their environment and things they see when they go out to fish.”
Atake also harped on the need for documentation and reporting of the identified environmental challenges or pollution, saying that monitoring without reporting would be an effort in futility even as he tasked them with the accuracy, authenticity and originality of data without any mutilation.
He encouraged people to use mobile phones to take real-time photos and videos without editing the images in the case of pollution or oil spills.
His words, “Reporting is an essential aspect of any monitoring activity. It affords the opportunities to track the activity and its impacts. It makes an activity visible and draws attention to it. Also, it helps to identify associated risks and to know the required controls and learning outcomes needed to prevent the reoccurrence of failures of an activity. No monitoring exercise is complete without a report of observations and a point of action.
“You must identify what caused the pollution, state the name of the community and landmark and if possible, use GPS, time and date the pollution was observed.”
One of the participants, OmusuoDieworio from Bayelsa State noted that apart from the activities of the multinationals, the people have contributed to the disappearance of fishes in the rivers by dumping refuse and plastic wastes inside the river which posed a great threat to fishes even as he urged community leaders to promulgate laws prohibiting that and the youth leaders to ensure the enforcement.
“Our people should be sensitized on the hazards of toxic waste. We should put laws that are binding on us. Our fishermen should discipline themselves enough after drinking sachet water eating should not drop the waterproof inside the water. They should also be discouraged from using dynamite and other chemicals for fishing as all these are harmful to both the aquatic animals and human beings that will consume it.” He said.
Speaking on the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, UmoIsua-Ikoh of the Peace Pact Development Foundation, said the provision in the PIA where the community should forfeit its 3% development fund in case of pipeline vandalism criminalizes the community and should be expunged noting that no community will agree to vandalize pipeline but an individual or a criminal.
He said they should go after anyone who vandalises pipelines and not make the entire community bear the brunt of one person.
On his part, Stephen Oduware, the Program Manager at Fossil Politics, called on the communities to network with CSOs, CBOs, doctors, lawyers, media especially those from their communities and other community members who have the community at heart to advocate at all fronts.
“The community people should partner with CSOs, CBOs so that they will be able to advocate from all fronts from the health implication of this pollution from the legal and human right violations as a result of this pollution, land grabbing and then they will be able to get well-researched works from the academics, we believe that with this network they will be able to push for the justice they needed.” He said.
The Delta State Govern-
ment says it is working hard to tackle the issue of climate change in the state.
Special Adviser to the state Governor on Sustainable Development Goals) (SDGs, Lady Diana Eyo _Enoette, said this in an interview with newsmen during the launching of Green City Project in Port Harcourt.
She said the government was doing this by raising awareness on the impact of climate change in the State and also control the indiscriminate dumping of waste across the State.
Eye-Emoette said government has also setup scouts across the State to embark on tree planting campaign in all nooks and crannies of Delta State.
She said time has come for governments across the Niger Delta region to create more awareness on climate change, adding that continuous human activities in the region have made it vulnerable to climate change
Diana described her government as a leading voice on climate change as far as the Niger Delta region is concerned and stressed the need for other governments in the region to follow suit.
She said Green City’s initiatives have become a potent weapon in fighting climate change, stressing that the initiative is coming at the appropriate time.
The special advise said governments across the country should key into the green city’s projects inorder to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
Meanwhile, a university teacher, Professor Magnus Onuoha, has called for conscious efforts by governments across Africa to check carbon emissions.
The university teacher also described the green city’s initiatives as a safe avenue for emerging cities in Africa.
Prof Onuoha, who spoke via videophone described the project as innovative, adding that climate change is real and no longer fallacies.
According to him “it is glaringly telling on our faces and the possibility of it going away is not there”.
He said.
By: John Bibor