Ahead of World Toilet Day on November 19, Nguvu Change Leader John Ogunsemore has called attention to the severe sanitation crisis in Itun Agan, a riverine community in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos, where over 10,000 residents lack access to proper sanitation facilities.
Speaking with The Guardian, Ogunsemore highlighted the urgent need for intervention to address open defecation in the area, which poses serious environmental and health risks.
Ogunsemore lamented that many residents, particularly the elderly, ill, and pregnant women, are forced to defecate openly in the Lagos Lagoon, often using wooden boats to find some privacy.
He stressed that this situation undermines human dignity and endangers public health and the environment. “In this day and age, it is unimaginable that residents have to climb onto boats to relieve themselves due to a lack of public toilets,” he said.
According to Ogunsemore, immediate action is needed if Nigeria is to achieve its goal of becoming Open Defecation Free (ODF) by 2025.
He urged the local authorities, particularly the Executive Chairman of Amuwo Odofin Local Council, Valentine Buraimoh, to prioritise the construction of public toilets in Itun Agan. He said this would significantly improve the community’s sanitation conditions and protect aquatic life affected by the pollution of the Lagos Lagoon.
In line with the recent call by the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof Joseph Utsev, for increased national efforts to end open defecation, Ogunsemore emphasised the need for local councils and stakeholders to ramp up efforts. The situation in Itun Agan, a century-old community, underscores Nigeria’s broader challenges in meeting its ODF targets.
Despite some progress, only 135 of Nigeria’s 774 local councils have been declared ODF, according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). In a September 2024 report, UNICEF estimated that Nigeria needs around 20 million new toilets to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
Ogunsemore warned that if policymakers do not prioritise this issue, the country is likely to miss its 2025 ODF target. He noted, “Nigeria will fall short of becoming open defecation-free if leaders do not actively address the social, environmental, and health implications of inadequate sanitation.”
The impact of open defecation is far-reaching, with over 100,000 children under five dying annually from diarrhoea, 90 per cent of which is linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation.
Ogunsemore called for urgent action to break the cycle of poor health and poverty exacerbated by inadequate sanitation, stressing that improved facilities would enhance public and environmental health in the affected communities.