Broken Promises: The Fight Against Open Defecation in Ondo State

 

 

By Dayo Afolabi, Akure

 

A walk through Ayedun community in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State paints a picture that is different from what its name, ‘Ayedun’, connotes. Ayedun, in the local Yoruba language, means ‘life is sweet’. A poignant smell of stale urine and faeces pervades the area. 

Drawn by the stench of faecal matter, large green flies gathered in the area, perching on everything in sight, including food items.

When this reporter visited Ayedun, one of the first things he noticed was a young man crunched and defecating in what is meant to be a public space.

 

 

Abeni Omorilewa, a businesswoman in the area who spoke in Yoruba, said that open defecation is a health concern to traders in the nearby Oja Oba market.

 

‘It is affecting us seriously; may God not allow us to incur bad sickness. As shop owners here, we have protested that they should not be openly defecating here, all to no avail’ she said.

 

 

 

Another trader, Bukola Mathew, said she was concerned about the state of the community. She appealed to the government to build public toilets in the area. 

  

‘The flies are so bad that we cannot come out for fresh air that we have had to resort to buying Izal to bring a little bit of reprieve to us here,’ she added.

Another trader, Adeola Olatunji disclosed that relieving oneself in the market has become tedious due to the location of the paid for toilet and its cost. 

She said toilets in the market are privately-owned and users are charged ₦100 to urinate and N200 to defecate.  She said many traders do not use the toilet because they are not clean enough and users are required to bring with water and soap. 

‘Using the toilet in the market is somehow, the place where the toilet is located is very far, if you want to force yourself to go there, one might just end up disgracing themselves and if you get to use the toilet, it is expensive’ she revealed.

“We usually urinate in our shops in containers or nylon bags and pour them inside the drainage, we know it's not good but what can we do?’ she said.

Open Toilet

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) joint monitoring programme in November 2023, about 39 million Nigerians and about 22 percent of its total population practice open defecation.

The report stated that open defecation is a factor in infant mortality as a child dies in the country every 2.5 minutes from unclean toilet, poor sanitation and hygiene.

In 2017, the Ondo State government banned open defecation in its bid to rid the state of infectious diseases and other poor-hygeine related ailments.

For six years, the government partnered with the United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF) as it vigorously campaigned against open defecation. The campaign was named: Clean Home, Happy Family, Use the toilet.  Part of the steps the government took to curb the practice include, mandatory toilets in all public and private buildings, including petrol stations, and schools. 

Photo of late Governor Akeredolu and UNICEF Nigeria Rep    Photo credit: UNICEF Nigeria Facebook

In November 2019, Emmanuel Igbasan, the then Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, who was also the chairman of the state’s committee on  Open Defecation Free (ODF) said access to good sanitation, provision of safe potable water and toilet facilities, are keys to achieving the goal.

 

He said that about 511,000 toilets are needed in private residences while about 1756 toilets would be required in public places such as Schools, Motor Parks, and Hospitals across the State.

 

But has the government been able to meet up with this requirement?

Screenshot of the budgetary allocation of Ondo state for sanitation

A new anti-open defecation law

The government said it plans to be open defecation free before 2025. But in 2026, the administration of  Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa moved the target to 2030. 

According to the 2025 public sanitation budget of the state N30 million was earmarked for “Water Sanitation and Hygiene School Approach Led Total Sanitation (WASHSALTS) Programme. The fund was meant for the construction of 40 Toilets, 40 Water, Menstrual Hygiene and 1000 Hand Wash for CLTS and Open Defecation Follow up.”

There are also sanitation-related projects and campaigns in the 2025 implementation report, including “Clean Home–Happy Family Use the Toilet Campaign Programme (ODF)” and public toilet construction initiatives. 

Deborah Sidiq, the director of Public Sanitation and Hygiene of the Ondo State Ministry of Water Resources and Public Sanitation, said the ministry is working on a proposal to construct public toilets across the state, in line with the governor’s directive.

She said the project will commence from Ifedore and Ikare council areas before moving to other parts of the state.

She said the state government is currently pushing a new legal framework through the House of Assembly, saying that under this law, heavy fines would be introduced for open defecation, and penalty for landlords who fail to provide adequate sanitary facilities for their tenants. 

‘Once this law is ratified, a massive media campaign will be launched to ensure every citizen understands the financial and legal risks of unhygienic practice,’ she noted. 

At the community level, Mrs Sidiq revealed that the Ministry has adopted the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) model, which has already seen success in local governments like Ifedore and Ikare. 

‘Because many rural residents cite poverty as a barrier, the Ministry introduced the "Adashe" system, a traditional rotating contribution where neighbours contribute to build toilets one house at a time. They are also teaching low-cost engineering, such as using perforated drums to prevent groundwater contamination and constructing "Tippy Taps" (TIPTA) for hands-free hygiene,’ she added. 

Solving an endemic problem

An environmentalist, Ayodele Ogunseyi said open defecation has become normalized in many rural and underdeveloped communities due to poor sanitation infrastructure and cultural habits. 

He said government sanitation policies have produced little change. He said a 2019 initiative in Ondo State that created a steering committee to combat open defecation, but says nothing tangible resulted from it. 

‘And what happened since that time? We have not seen anything and the policy, you know they even had a steering committee that period to look at how those states can be free of any open defecation but we have not seen anything.

“It's just a policy that has been on the paper and nothing tangible has come out of it, so to say.  And when we look at it, how can we cope with it?,’ he added

He said, international sanitation standards recommend different toilet-to-user ratios depending on the setting. In public places such as markets, parks, and transport terminals, one toilet should serve between 50 and 100 people. 

In emergency situations, the recommended ratio is one toilet for every 20 people to minimize health risks. Schools require one toilet for every 25 girls and one toilet for every 50 boys, while workplaces should provide one toilet for every 15 to 25 workers. 

Ogunseyi argued that simply building public toilets is not enough, adding that many  public toilets become unsafe, poorly maintained, or abandoned, sometimes turning into shelters for homeless people or hiding places for criminals. 

‘Why are we building  public toilets? When you move from one angle to another angle in Akure for example,  is it either  you see residential or see a commercial or an institution. Why can't we make it compulsory for every structure and building to have toilet?’

Instead, he believed the key solution is changing public attitudes and behavior through education and awareness about the health and environmental dangers of open defecation. 

He also called on the state government to involve the private sector in sanitation services, believing private operators may manage facilities more effectively and sustainably. 

Health implications of open defecation

The Director of Public Health at the Ondo State Ministry of Health, Dr Stephen Fagbemi, emphasized that although progress has been made, more work is needed to eliminate open defecation. 

He points out that many households, especially in rural areas, still lack toilet facilities because housing regulations are poorly enforced, adding that every household should have proper sanitation facilities as part of a long-term solution.

Fagbemi noted that some local governments, including Akure South and north, have recorded occasional cholera cases in recent years, but the state’s preparedness and quick intervention strategies have helped prevent major outbreaks. 

He added ‘open defecation is a serious public health issue tied to sanitation, poverty, and infrastructure challenges, but the state government’s proactive disease-control efforts have helped a lot. The World Health Organization has also helped to end open defecation. 

In fact, a decade was declared to eradicate the practice completely, indicating that international health bodies and governments are working toward improving sanitation and eliminating open defecation’.

He stressed that progress depends on stronger enforcement of sanitation policies, better housing infrastructure, access to toilets, and continued public health education.

This report was commissioned with support from the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) under a journalism support initiative funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy.