Nigerians and the Use of toilets

By Evelyn Okakwu

Cleanliness, they say, is next to Godliness. So when people start considering their hygiene in very low terms, one can say, by implication, that they have negated the closest principle of to that of divinity. The world marks word toilet day on the 19^th of November each year, as put in place by the United Nation’s organisation the UNO.

Nonetheless, in this New Year, there might as well be the need to analyse the attitude of the people towards the use of the toilet in public places as well as in domestic environment.

A toilet is also regarded as a convenience because of its basic objective of ensuring the suitability of person’s Biological, as well as mental state through appropriate use of the toilet.  However prevailing trends have proven that this convenience is not regarded with indeed as much needed “convenience”, as would have been anticipated by medical practitioners.

As part of his speech to mark the 2013 World Toilet day, Secretary-General, of the united Nations Ban Ki-moon had this to say:  "By working together – and by having an open and frank discussion on the importance of toilets and sanitation – we can improve the health and well-being of one-third of the human family"

In the United Nation’s message for last year’s World Toilet Day, it was reported that; While a vast majority of the world's population has access to mobile phones, one third of humanity comprising 2.5 billion people do not have access to proper sanitation, including toilets or latrines, with dramatic consequences on human health, dignity and security, the environment, and social and economic development.

It was because of this fact that the program tarred: “Sanitation for All” Resolution (A/RES/67/291) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in July 2013, designating 19 November as World Toilet Day.

 According to the UN; the lack of improved sanitation largely contributes to the fact that almost 2,000 children die every day from preventable diarrhoeal diseases. It also impacts vulnerable populations such as persons with disabilities and women, who are more exposed to sexual violence. Lack of private toilets in schools is a major reason why girls do not continue their education once they enter puberty.

The reports also revealed that Poor sanitation and water supply also result in economic losses estimated at $260 billion annually in developing countries.

 The United Nation recognises this event as part of its effort to change both the  behaviour and policy  of people on issues ranging from enhancing water management to ending open-air defecation which an estimate of 1.1 billion people practice worldwide.

  According Dr. Chris Williams, executive director of the Geneva-based Water Supply and

 Sanitation Collaborative Council WSSCC sanitation and hygiene are motors which drive health,

 social and economic development around the world.

 “An environment that lacks sanitation and clean water is an environment where achieving other development goals are an impossible dream. The time to act is now,” he stated

 In Nigeria the attitude of most people towards the toilet leaves much to be expected. A cross analyses of prevailing trends in most houses especially among the middle and lower class has proven that people regard the toilet as completely inconsequential.

According to Adeze Madu a Graduate of the University of Benin, who served in Ekity State, she says the attitude of most landlords everywhere in Nigeria is unbelievable as far as the problem is concerned.

 

“When I was at the Benin I heard about some houses where the landlords asked his tenants to pay as much as N20 000 in a room apartment that has no toilet; I thought it was a nightmare, but when I got to Ekity state where I served I saw that the case was even worse. Most people paid even more than that for houses without Toilets. I even lived in a house without a toilet with a friend for a while before I eventually found one that has a toilet to rent. The situation is really bad. You will see a major street that has such beautiful buildings smelling so bad and the people living in the environment feel quite comfortable with the trend. I really think the government should do something about it. Let there be a way to checkmate landlords who are capable of erecting such buildings.”

 

Asked how many times they wash the toilet at their house, Adaeze had this to say: “Well in my house we clean the toilet every three days because most of us are not at home now but when we are at home we do it every day”

 

Doctor Godswill Onu speaks on the Number of times a person is expected to keep the toilet clean daily: “Every toilet, irrespective of the number of persons using it should be cleaned daily. Some persons will even tell you to clean it twice daily just like the way you clean your teeth and your body. The toilet is that place where you keep yourself clean. So if you can bath for as much as two times daily or even more why shouldn’t you clean the toilet daily, I don’t even have to be a physician to know that that is a daily necessity”.

 

Also you need to clean the toilet with the use of disinfectants; there are many good ones in the market. It is wrong to clean the toilet without the use of disinfectants because the toilet is a place where bacteria’s are prevalent, if not properly kept.

 

From the comments of the Doctor, it can be deduced that our respondent Adaeze herself is not meeting up with the basic requirement for a clean toilet. Yet still what has Mr Eniola, Lakan,  a staff of the Nigerian Civil defence have this to say about the use of Toilet most Nigerians: “I can assure you that this is a very important issue. Most people use the toilet with so much negligence. Imaging a case of a person I had to stay with in Adamawa State then during my school days, the woman had four children and they were living in a three bedroom flat. They had this habit of using the toilet and leaving it without been flushed, especially the children and this are not very little children; the youngest was about 9 years old. But all of them even the eldest sometimes would use the toilet and just flush in such manner as though it had not been flushed. I think the problem boils down to general Hygiene: when a person is good in the practice of hygienic principles, such a person becomes observant of the negation of toilet hygiene. So it has to do with general cleanliness.”

 

Certainly the nature of a person’s adaptability to hygienic principles goes a long way to make the persons prone to various kinds of bacterial. While the need to check our hygienic behaviour becomes pertinent; the need also for the government to check the use of public toilets becomes even more necessary.

 

Part of the plan by the United Nations is to end the Use of public Toilet;.  In most of the parks in Nigeria, the Public toilets are the only access to convenience by the people. Despite the fact that people have to pay a token which is supposed to sum up the total amount of money used to clean the toilet; the disturbing smell that emanates from such a place is not anything to write home about as this student, Vivian Ujah of the Federal Polytechnic Adamawa has to say: “The first time I used the toilet at the park I told myself that I would never do that again. The small from the place was so bad that I had to virtually seize my breath. It was really an awful experience.”

 

The Ministry of environment therefore should use this important event to do the necessary in order to ensure a positive change in the peoples Hygiene which will eventually result in a positive change in the health and general development of the people.