By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
The State Minister of Environment Sharon Ikeazor has urged Nigerians on the need to have a clean healthy toilets .
She made the disclosure at weekend in Abuja, to commemorate 2021 world toilet day and second anniversary of the Clean Nigeria :Use the Toilet in collaboration with Ministry of Water Resources, with the theme ‘Valuing Toilet’.
Ikeazor represented by the permeant Secretary ministry environment Engr. Hassan Musa said this year’s celebration focuses on appreciating the importance and benefits of having toilets and sanitation system.
The minister explained that, the fact that, without toilet and sanitation system, the world would be filthy and unhealthy for living.
“Billions of people across the globe do not have access to toilet this has contribute massively to the human faeces that are not being captured or treated, hence, contaminating the water and soil that sustain human life thereby turning our environment into an open sewer”.
She called on the reawakening of societal consciousness on the importance of having eco-friendly sanitary facilities in every household and ensuring proper management of sewage.
She also said the ending of open defecation by 2030 is one of the core mandates for commemorating the World Toilet day every year globally.
“I hereby charge government at all levels, Development Partners, Private sectors, etc to empower these professionals to effectively carry out their duties in the country for the attainment of open defecation free Nigeria by 2030.”
Also speaking, the minister of Water Resources,Sulemain Adamu said “It has been established that investment in sanitation yields a five-fold returns on investment.
“We must therefore prioritize investment and innovations towards improving sustainable access to sanitation and hygiene in our communities”.
He stated that, the adoption of Community Led Total Sanitation approach to generate demand for toilet, addressing the supply chain for construction of durable and improved toilet facilities through Sanitation Marketing is Key .
“As well as harnessing innovations across the sanitation service chain such as treatment and reuse of faecal waste are some of the strategies we have adopted in this regard”, he said.
