By Eben Enasco
As Nigeria strives to achieve sustainable development goals, hygiene and sanitation issues must be prioritized.
Access to good toilets is crucial for enhancing good hygiene and sanitation, which are vital for achieving these goals.
Successive Edo State Governments have attempted to provide people-friendly infrastructure, including toilets, to promote good hygiene.
However, the sustainability and security of these facilities depend not only on the government but also on the people.
Unfortunately, the Edo City Transport Service (ECTS) Terminal Park, located at the Lagos Street junction by King Square, has suffered from vandalism.
The borehole pumping machine, installed by the state government to facilitate toilet usage, was stolen the night after the project’s completion.
Since then, the toilet facilities have been locked, and the contractors have not handed over the keys to the local government council.
Investigations revealed that contractors are often responsible for vandalizing government property, removing materials used in projects, and reselling them.
Metal scrap scavengers, particularly those from the northern part of the country, have also been identified as culprits, stealing and defecating around King Square, and harassing the public.
The ECTS terminal park has become a haven for destitute and petty traders, despite a recent prohibition on hawking in the area.
Most of these people are said to be brought into the city in a trailer load and dumped at the ring road where they crave survival.
This has further created lapses in security operations in the state.
They have created unrest at the city center with their stealing crafts causing families to panic over their deeds during busy commercial hours in the day and night.
They eat and drop cellophane and plastic drinks on the road that have been a major erosion upset in the metropolis
Open defecation has become a problem, despite the availability of toilet facilities. The Edo State government must take action to address these issues, including designing a clear roadmap to make the state open defecation-free, building more toilet facilities, and deploying local security operatives to monitor and report vandalism.
The government must also investigate and prosecute contractors who vandalize government property, and take measures to prevent metal scrap scavengers from stealing and defecating in public areas.
By taking these steps, Edo State can promote community health, eliminate preventable diseases, and achieve sustainable development goals.
