By Rauf Oyewole
The District Head of Miri, Alh. Hussaini Abubakar Othman has said that it required a concerted effort to convince many of his subjects to desist from open defecation.
According to the monarch, many rural dwellers held on to belief in open defecation and did not easily see reasons to use toilets. He said that with community enlightenment, persuasion and constant reminder on the danger associated with open defecation, the rural communities now preferred to use toilets.
He said this on Thursday in his palace when a team of journalists sought for his efforts following the declaration of Bauchi LGA as an open defecation free.
Meanwhile, the Bauchi State Government and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have intensified efforts in provision of adequate Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in communities.
Bauchi LGA, the Capital of Bauchi State and its surrounding communities is the most populated area and the 10th of the 20 councils to be certified and declared open defecation free after several years. Dass Local Government is among the few councils to be declared ODF in Nigeria.
The Guardian observation in Zungur, Kangere and Liman Katagum communities showed that the residents among themselves were preaching hygiene and committed to a clean environment to curb waterborne diseases.
UNICEF in partnership with the Bauchi State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency has enlightened communities on the reasons to embrace improved toilet systems. It has also trained and empowered the Toilet Business Operators (TBOs) just as RUWASSA invested in building toilets and water facilities in public places and rural communities.
The Village Head of Liman Katagum, Yakubu Abubakar lauded UNICEF and RUWASSA for their consistency in training the WASH-Committee who localised enlightenment by preaching against open defecation. “This Committee did a lot of campaigns –telling our people the dangers in polluting the environment. By doing this, we have controlled so many diseases that could have affected thousands of our people.”
Another resident and Community leader, Abdullahi Yusuf said that the leaders put it open themselves to assist the households that could not fix their toilet. “On many occasions we have personally contributed to fix some toilets for households just to ensure they have a sort of improved toilets.
“For Almajiri, we have addressed their teachers to control their defecation and they were given toilets and water.”
Bauchi State is one of the cholera worst hit according to available data. Many rural residents were hospitalised with others losing their lives to waterborne diseases due to flooding that washed contaminated fecal materials to sources of water during the pick of the rain in 2024.
Nigeria reported 10,837 cases of cholera across 35 states and the FCT between January and September 2024. 359 deaths were recorded from cholera in 2024.
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