By Aderogba George
The FCT Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) says the administration is
currently working toward building permanent public toilets in strategic locations of the city to reduce Open Defecation (ODF).
The agency’s Head, Media and Publicity, Mr Karo-Sani Bala, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
in Abuja on Tuesday.He said that the move was to check ODF, which the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) considered an urgent area of concern.Bala, who said ODF was perculiar to third world countries, especially in Africa, added that “ODF is not a new thing; it is common in
third world countries, pronounced in India some years back, Nigeria first experienced much of it in 2019.“Recent statistics show that North Central, that is middle belt, leading with wholesome figure of 53.9 per cent ODF. This is also common
in Abuja environs like in the Abaji area, Kwali and others.“People use temporary structures for ODF just to cover themselves; these are common in urban areas especially in city centres where you also see
men come out of their cars to defecate by the roadside.”
He added that such practice was also popular among petty traders like artisans, shoemakers and others.The media and publicity head said that the FCT RUWASSA, an agency that was introduced in 2021, had been mandated to tackle rural water supply and
sanitation issues and to discourage the habit of ODF.He said that the agency had started discussions with leaders of Kwali and Bwari area councils of the FCT so as to find solution to the menace.According to him, the agency has started educating inhabitants of the two councils to reason along its mandate, and to realise that ODF is the cause of many ailments ravaging
communities.
He said that the agency was also working to meet up with the presidency deadline of stopping ODF in the country by the year 2025, which he said is close.Bala said that the agency was also working with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to introduce an equipment that would enable people
to easily build toilets in their houses.The equipment, he added, would have an automated device that would help to flush the waste immediately after defecation.When asked why the sudden disappearance of most mini public toilets in the FCT in previous years, Bala said those toilets were provided by the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB). He said those toilets were not mounted as permanent structures, but occasional or social gathering conveniences meant for temporary usage.
“Those mini toilets provided in the previous years all disappeared as a result of maintenance issue,” he said.He explained that the planned RUWASSA public toilets which may likely commence in 2023 may be placed on Public Private Partnership (PPP)
to make the system work and ensure they last. (NAN)
