A health related NGO, Toilet Kulture, on Thursday urged stakeholders to collaborate with the Federal Government for effective sensitisation on effect of open defaecation in Nigeria.
Mrs Elsie Ozika, Executive Director of the organisation, made the plea in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Ozika said that effective collaboration with all levels of governments by relevant stakeholders, would help to eradicate open defaecation in the country.
According to her, partnering with relevant stakeholders, both national and international, will bring effective results in eradicating open defaecation in various communities.
“I am calling on all the Civil Society Organisations, NGOs, international and national organisations and able Nigerians, to join hands with the government to say ‘No to Open Defecation’.
“Government cannot do it alone; we should support our government to ensure that we have decent and clean environment.
“When our environment is polluted, it can cause diseases and can affect our economy, because foreign investors would not want to invest in our country, ” she said.
Ozika said that the organisation had carried the campaigns to some schools in the FCT.
She said that the organisation had visited University of Abuja and one of the private schools in Gudu area.
“We carried on our sensitisation campaign to the schools, telling them the importance of using decent toilet and the implication of open defaecation.
“We also tell them that they should ensure that their toilet facilities are maintained, because it is good to have toilets and important to maintain them.
“We discovered that the university has toilets, but not enough for the students.
“We, hereby ask the government and other stakeholders to support the school by constructing more toilets.
“The organisation is planning to visit Jabi Park, Markets and schools to ensure that the general public adhere to our message on the dangers of open defaecation,” she said.
Ozika said that the organisation’s objective was to promote a culture of excellent and ensuring human dignity.
The executive director further advised Nigerians to embrace a culture of excellent, adding that such would help to promote cleanliness in the country.
