open defecation
•Residents warn of looming epidemic
•It’s a dangerous trend — Oyekanmi, retired health expert
•We’ll arrest, prosecute defaulters — Ogun govt.
lagos
THE Lagos-Ibadan expressway has always been in the news. The 127km six-lane road, which cuts across Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states and is the major route to the North and the Southern parts of the country, is said to be the busiest interstate road in Nigeria.
Before the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the expressway, the road had always been in the news for traffic congestion, spending several hours on a journey of less than 30 minutes and frequent auto accidents which mostly involved trucks and tankers laden with fuel or gas.
These have led to loss of lives.
It was the cries of Nigerians that prompted former President Goodluck Jonathan to flag off the reconstruction of the expressway in 2014 while the major work commenced during the time of immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari with billions of naira budgeted and spent.
It has been a great relief for commuters, transporters and other users of the road as there has been a drastic reduction in auto accidents while traffic gridlock has virtually disappeared.
While Nigerians hailed the Federal Government for demystifying the usual trend of gridlock and auto crashes on the expressway, another ugly trend to be contended with has just reared its ugly head.
Rising open defecation by miscreants
The worrying trend of open defecation by touts and miscreants is visible from the Sagamu Interchange to the Ojodu Berger axis of the expressway in Lagos State.
The stretch of the median is littered with human faeces while the stench from the place now envelopes passersby.
The ugly trend as observed by Vanguard, starts from the median from Warewa to Isheri and Kara in Obafemi/Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.
It was, however, observed that the median had been turned to public toilets by the miscreants.
According to residents in the affected areas, if urgent actions are not taken by relevant government agencies, the situation might lead to an outbreak of diseases.
Faeces litter the median
Some residents, who spoke to Vanguard, said the stench from the human excreta was worse in the Kara-OPIC area, noting that faeces not only litter the median but also the roadsides, the bank of the Ogun River and the cattle market.
Speaking withVanguard on the situation, a resident of Ibafo, who identified himself as Demilade Olukayode, attributed the ugly trend to the miscreants, whom he said have no place they can call home.
He noted that the ugly trend has been going on for a long time, stressing that a series of complaints had been made to government agencies, but nothing has been done.
Olukayode said: “Aside from the embarrassing outlook of the median, the faeces poses a serious health risk to the residents.”
Also speaking, Mr Adekunle Adelaja expressed concern that there were some numbers of public toilets along the expressway corridor, but people refused to use them.
Adelaja said: “The toilets have always been in operation, and the operators charge N100 only for bathing and N100 for the use of the toilet. Unfortunately, many people find it difficult to pay the token and choose to go to the median to defecate.”
On his part, Mr Adewale Adeniyi said: “When crossing the expressway, if you don’t watch your steps, you’ll step on the faeces. The odour coming out from the place is terrible.”
Around the Kara area, it was gathered that open defecation is practised in broad daylight.”
A trader at Warewa, who simply identified herself as Doris, said, open defecation is mainly perpetrated in the night or before dawn, adding that people who do it are mostly homeless persons, traders, pedestrians and others.
She identified enforcement by relevant government agencies as a solution to the problem.
Absence of sanitation officers worrisome —Community leader
Commenting on the ugly act, a community leader in Isheri, Mr. Adetunji Adekanle blamed the ugly trend on the dearth of health/sanitation officers at the local government level in the state.
Adekanle said: “In the 1980s even up to the 1990s, sanitation officers moved from house to house and community to community to monitor the health condition of households, but today, the reverse is the case. The absence of sanitation officers has created room for open defecation to thrive.
“In those days, the main function of the environmental health officer included sanitary inspection of premises, giving necessary advice and enforcement of sanitation rules.
“Also, the influx of strangers and homeless persons into these communities could be responsible for the increase in open defecation in the affected areas.”
He noted that the issue of Environmental/Sanitation Inspection Officers should be revived at the local government level, as part of measures to curb this problem.
He said: “Until the government begins to arrest those engaging in open defecation, it may continue to occur. That is the only solution. Once anybody is arrested and made to pay a fine of like N3,000 – N5,000, then they will stop defecating in the median.
“Individuals, who are left with their feeding fee, would not want to part away with such for them to ease themselves; they would rather seek a freer alternative.”
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