By Cross Udo, Abuja
The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, yesterday implored the governors of the 36 federating states to double their efforts in the ongoing campaign to ensure Nigeria is open defecation-free in the next five years.
Senator Shettima contended that the campaign’s importance could not be overemphasized, as every step taken towards ending open defecation will improve health, boost productivity, and enhance the dignity and safety of Nigerians.
The Vice President made the call during the 5th anniversary of the “Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet” campaign, during which he also formally launched the Strategic Plan at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Shettima, who was represented at the event by Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Office of the Vice President, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, urged state governments to be deliberate in mobilizing “high-level political support that would drive the campaign, especially at the sub-national level.”
He noted that the sanitation sector in Nigeria has great economic opportunities for growth. He explained that aligning these opportunities with the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration can create jobs, provide alternative energy sources, and produce biological fertilisers.
In a statement by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, the VP said, “It is against this background that the need to re-strategise the critical elements that will progressively increase our level of advocacy and awareness came to be.
“The new Strategic Plan for the Clean Nigeria Campaign is a comprehensive, actionable framework for Clean Nigeria that will help actualize the call for reasonable access to toilet use by 2030.
“I, therefore, urge state governors to provide the necessary support to drive the campaign at the State and Local Government Areas levels to achieve our Open Defecation Free Nigeria target within the next five years.”
The Vice President cautioned against the hazards of open defecation, saying it is “a critical public health and environmental issue that compromises our water sources, spreads disease, and negatively impacts the quality of life, education, and economic productivity of the populace.
He said inadequate sanitation facilities to address open defecation pose a great risk, especially to women, girls, and vulnerable communities, assuring that the Tinubu administration is committed to the bid to end open defecation in Nigeria.
“The present administration is committed to the call for Open Defecation Free in Nigeria as part of measures to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 6.2 target aimed at contributing to building a healthy and thriving nation.
“We are all aware that the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, rolled out several initiatives to bridge the existing gap of inadequate basic sanitation services,” he stated.
Senator Shettima applauded the support provided by stakeholders, especially state Governors, Chairmen of local government areas, national and state legislators, members of the international community, development partners, the private sector, civil societies, and the media.
In his opening remarks, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof Joseph Utsev, said the 5th anniversary of the campaign aligned with the World Toilet Day set aside by the United Nations to accelerate the drive towards Open Defecation Free in countries around the world.
He recalled that the “Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet” campaign was launched in 2019 under the national programme to end open defecation in Nigeria and is backed by Presidential Executive Order 009.
Utsev explained that the unfortunate position of Nigeria informed the campaign as one of the countries with the highest number of people practicing open defecation, estimated at 48 million persons.
In his words, “It is a transformative movement to end open defecation in Nigeria, and since its commencement, appreciable progress has been made over the past few years, with One Hundred and Thirty-Five (135) LGAs having attended an Open Defecation Free status.
“More State Governments and Local Government Areas are currently undergoing a verification process in line with the National Protocol on Open Defecation Free, and over Thirty Thousand (30,000) other communities were certified as ODF. Despite all these attainments, the progress rate appears grossly inadequate compared to the Campaign target date of 2025, which expects nationwide advocacy.”
In his goodwill message, Senator Eze Kenneth Emeka, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Water Resources, thanked the federal government for developing the campaign to clean water and end open defecation, saying no one should lose focus on the target of terminating it in 2025.
He commended the government, through the Ministry of Water Resources, for taking the initiative to sustain the campaign and set the target of ending the menace in 2025.
