World toilet day was celebrated on Thursday November 19, 2020. it is day set aside by the United Nations to create awareness on the importance of the provision of safe defecation cum constant water facilities. It is geared at discouraging open defecation practice known to have become part of many Africans especially Nigerians.
Defecation is one basic necessity of man. This is necessary for the overall well being and proper function of the human body. This is why if one is not careful to defecate at the appropriate time and place, it may become embarrassing when nature calls. This call has no clue as to the status of anybody. This is why it is important that developing countries especially Nigeria place provision of water and toilet facilities as a top priority. As for the elites access to good toilet facility and water supply is a piece of cake.
Unfortunately, majority of Nigerians have little or no access to good toilet facilities. This is why open defecation has become common practice in most rural dwellings. It is not uncommon to witness open defecation in urban areas. It is very common with people on transit as the call of nature cannot be ignored by anyone. This is why in some places some entrepreneurs have taken a cue to build mobile toilets. How accessible and safe these toilets are is another ball game.
Lack of access to toilet facility has contributed immensely to environmental pollution as these faecal wastes are washed into water sources. This overtime has resulted in the outbreak of cholera and other water borne diseases. It behoves on government to provide adequate toilet facilities so that people at all levels can access toilet to reduce the statistics of open defecation. Although, private individuals can be encouraged to start up stationed or mobile toilets through by giving interested entrepreneurs access to soft loans that help them start up without much stress.
It is another case for residents who have no access to toilet facilities. It is inhuman for houses to be built without provision made for proper collection and disposal of faecal waste. This presupposes that the government should ensure that buildings are properly monitored so that basic necessary facilities such toilets are part of building plans especially in major towns and cities.
This can also be extended to rural areas; where landlords are given the proper orientation or a reminder on the need to add toilet and water supply as part of their building plans. In cases where there are no toilet facilities as is common with most old buildings an attached toilet can be built to alleviate the suffering of the people from faecal related diseases.
The case of open defecation is very common in public places such as churches, schools, markets and in some cases hospitals. This is because there are no working order as to building and maintenance of toilets especially in public primary and secondary schools. Where toilets are available in schools, they are either insufficient or they usually in dilapidated. In such cases pupils and students have no choice than to find the nearest enclosure to answer the call of nature. This is the case in most public hospitals, churches and markets. When the needed facilities are in place it is important that they are kept in good shape so as to encourage people to make use of them.
On another facet, a lot of people have very low personal hygiene. It is very common to see people make use of toilets and in the midst of inflow of water, live the toilet worse than it was met. This habit is most times developed in the homes. It is a well known fact that charity begins at home. The school, church, hospital and various media platforms are enabling environments where people have to be constantly reminded that it is important to keep the toilet clean at all time. This is one key way to keep diseases at bay
