Open Defecation: Ogun Launches ‘One House, One Toilet’ Campaign In Ijebu-North Council

 

OGUN NORTH, NIGERIA – The Ogun State Government has kicked off the ‘One House, One Toilet’ campaign in Ijebu-North Local Government Council, as part of efforts to eradicate open defecation in the council and state at large.

The campaign was kicked-off through the Ogun State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RUWATSAN) Agency, in partnership with United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF), with the theme: The Implementation of NTD-WASH Based Community-led To Sanitation (CLTS), Activities, held recently at Ijebu-North LGA Secretariat.

The campaign would cover 167 Communities within Mamu, Omen, Ojowo-Japara and Osun wards in Ijebu-North Local Government Area of the state.

Commissioner for Rural Development, Mrs. Olufemi Ilori-Oduntan said the campaign seeks to promote the use of toilets and good hygiene practices in every community across the state and Nigeria.

Ilori-Oduntan said, “The federal’s mandate to eradicate Open Defecation is embedded and signed an Executive Order 009 in considering its prevalence and havoc, and the immediately keyed into the order and had since being providing needed support to the anchor Agency, Ogun RUWATSAN for her to drive the community Led Total Sanitation approach.

“As one of the major strategies for scaling up sanitation; the result of which was that Ikenne LGA being declared into ODF status in December, 2023, And the journey towards making Ijebu-North the second LGA wide Open Defecation Free starts today because we are sure that the remaining 7 wards will also be considered soon.”

Also, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Mr. Seyi Sokoya said; “It is my hope, in view of the importance of this campaign to our national development process and meeting the goal of eradicating open defecation Nigeria, that, this campaign and other initiatives of this present administration will contribute to the success of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector.

“Sensitisation is a driving tool in achieving an Open Defecation Free Ogun, and so the campaign must be people-centered and community-based. That is why community engagement, especially in the vulnerable and underserved communities, is priority to us.  We also seek the support of local governments to cascade the policy to the people who are the direct beneficiaries.”

In his opening remarks, the Project Manager, Mr. Sola Ogunbo said that the practice of open defecation is a menace that has plagued the communities for too long, noting that it posed significant risks to the health, environment and economic development.

“Indeed, it is unacceptable that in this day and age, many of our citizens are still forced to defacate in the open, exposing themselves and their loved ones to the dangers of water-borne diseases, malnutrition, and dignity-denying conditions and the future of the children”, Mr. Ogunbo said.

He noted that it also contributes to high health costs, reduced productivity, and even loss of lives, noting that national statistics indicates that waterborne diseases claim thousands of lives every year, yet they are preventable.

Also speaking, the UNICEF representative, Mr. Monday Johnson, said that it was imperative to eradicate open defecation through collective sensation of the stakeholders in the state, as the state deed in the Ikenne Local Government Area two year ago.

He said person hygiene needs to apply in combating open defecation and the provision and availability of water, applaudding the state government in the provision of water for the state at large.

Chairman of Ijebu-North Local Government, Mr. Bolaji Odusanya, represented by his Secretary, Mr. Sojinrin Adeniyi, lamented that it was discovered that truck drivers, motor boys and street traders were the main offenders of this nefarious act.

He urged stakeholders to implement decisions taken at the meeting to ensure open defecation is totally eradicated in the council and in the state at large.