By Adedotun Ajayi

An estimated 50 million Nigerians still defecate in the open. Despite its population of about 200 million people, it surpasses India’s numbers, whose population is 1.3 billion people, meaning that the proportion of Nigerians openly defecating is much larger than that of India. Though linked with poverty and poor sanitary facilities, the practice also happens in tertiary institutions as well as in rural areas. Not even one-third of Nigeria have access to basic sanitation, and the numbers have only grown since 2015. With these numbers come the consequences. Poor sanitation, poor education, premature deaths and economic loss affect the country as well.
Open defecation is the act of passing excreta in open air locations instead of in hygienic, covered locations.
Sometime in 2019, the Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu outlawed open defecation across the 18 local councils of the state, saying it was a drastic step aimed at making the state completely free from infectious diseases and other health related challenges.
However, it seems the people of Irese, ifedore local government have refused to comply.
Investigation by The Hope revealed that most of the houses have no latrines and inhabitants of those houses preferred to excrete at the bushy parts behind their houses thereby constituting nuisance to other inhabitants with latrines.
it is common to see faeces in the open. While some excrete in the open, others do their business in a corridor and then wrap it up in nylon or paper to drop by the roadside.
Unfortunately, this inappropriate behaviour has blighted the environmental advancement efforts of the government. The horrible smell that emanates from this part of the state, where this act is being practiced, is such that can put off potential investor
When The Hope visited the town on Wednesday, it was a total gloom as houseflies were seen humming over the leftover feces in places visited by our correspondent.
Reacting to this, Oba Ahmed Destiny Saka, Ajila III, Olurese of Irese, said the people were reprimanded by the Ondo State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) on the dangers and effects of open defecation but with no positive outcome in the community.
“I don’t know if our people here are complying, because I can’t visit their homes one after the other to know if they have toilets or not, apart from that, the waste management board has never visited Irese before, that’s why everywhere is stinking, I can’t point to anything we have benefited from the government, no street light, no water, no public toilets, nothing at all. We appeal to the government to come to our aid before things get out of hand” he said.
A pastor in the community, Dr Olalusi Olapade, in his words, “On the issue of open defecation in this community, there’s nothing we have not said and done, in fact i make announcements about this same issue every Sunday in Church so that our members can tell others at home but still to no avail. It is causing serious environmental pollution, we can’t even breathe in fresh air, some of the houses in this community have toilets but they prefer to use the bushes around, apart from the horrible community smell and spread of communicable diseases like polio, typhoid fever and hepatitis, this open defecation poises serious danger to this community and those practicing it are prone to attacks by wild animals while defecating in bushes. We want government intervention, we are not safe at all”
Laide Adedayo, a resident, said the prevalence of open defecation practice among people in Irese is a serious concern and a call for public health education and sanitation intervention.
“Diseases do not respect boundaries, I think our people here are not well informed about the dangers that associate with it, Open defecation is a public menace capable of resulting in the outbreak of serious health complications and communicable diseases. If the government can provide public toilets, it would go a long way in eradicating open defecation in this local government”
Another resident who identified as Olaiya, said “Regrettably, within the space of 6months there has been an increase in the percentage of open defecation in this area, There’s nothing we have not said and done but these people won’t listen, I caught one of them the other day and he categorically told me
fetching water is stressful, that he would rather use the bushes around, and it’s serves as fertilizer to his crops too, just imagine. We are tired of this air pollution around, most of these people have toilets in their homes, they are just used to defecating in bushes”
Dr. Micheal Ojo, said cycle of illnesses still persisted in communities lacking sanitation facilities. He said that access to safe water and secured toilets were necessary for all, saying that “defecating in the open is like we are infecting ourselves.” “In communities where there is open defecation, there are diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera and gastroenteritis, killing children under five years,” he explained. Ojo said open defecation was still causing Nigeria to lose millions of naira annually, saying the issue needed to be dealt with in order to secure the nation’s future. He stressed the need to have a national road map, which would also involve state governments to address the issue before 2025, The Roadmap provides a guide towards achieving an open defecation-free country using different approaches such as capacity development; promotion of improved technology options through sanitation marketing; provision of sanitation facilities in public places; Community-Led Total Sanitation; promotional and media campaigns; creating enabling environment and coordination mechanism.