The Nasarawa State Government has introduced mobile toilets, which are to be distributed to specific locations across the 13 Local Government Areas of the state in order to tackle the surge of open defecation.
The state government declared zero tolerance for open defecation, describing the practice as not only an embarrassment, but as a severe public health emergency.
The Nasarawa State Commissioner for Environment, Solid Minerals and Mining, Margaret Elayo, stated this on Thursday during a media briefing ahead of the World Toilet Day, slated for November 19, 2026.
Elayo emphasised that sanitation was a top priority under the administration of Governor Abdullahi Sule, and therefore the issue of open defecation will not be encouraged.
Highlighting the gravity of the situation, the Commissioner noted that over 3.5 billion people worldwide still lack safe environments for managing sanitation.
She said that in Nigeria, millions of people continue to practice open defecation, which directly causes preventable waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and diarrhoea, leading to the annual deaths of thousands of children.
The Commissioner outlined core objectives under Governor Sule’s leadership to end open defecation, collaborating closely with local governments, traditional rulers, and community leaders to progressively declare communities open defecation-free.
”Accessible Sanitation for All, Environmental and Water Protection, promoting the construction of clean, safe public toilets across markets, motor parks, schools, and health centres, with specific design considerations for women, children, and persons with disabilities,” she said.
According to her, the toilet was built as a protected river and every maintained toilet has prevented disease.
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She further appealed to community leaders to enforce sanitation guidelines within local domains, while urging schools and teachers to prioritise hygiene education and toilet maintenance.
“It may sound simple. It may even sound so funny to some of us, but a toilet is life. A toilet is dignity. A toilet is health. A toilet is safety. A toilet is a peace space. Imagine a child who cannot go to school because there is no toilet in the school. Imagine a woman who must wait until nightfall, risking her safety, just to ease herself in a bush.
“Imagine a community where human waste flows in the same water they drink, they cook with, and bathe with. That is the reality for millions of people across the globe, even here in Nigeria, and particularly my state, Nasarawa State,” she emphasised.
In a demonstration of the government’s commitment to ending open defecation, the commissioner unveiled a mobile toilet and recycling materials, promising to replicate the same in schools and public places across the state.
“Some of these schools have these challenges. And like what I described to you guys, this would be part of my gift to some schools in the state, especially because it also concerns the girl child.
“Because I don’t want any girl child to be exposed to the public because there are no good toilets, and that is why I came up with this concept,” she said.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, the impact of open defecation in Nigeria is huge; more than 100,000 children under 5 years of age die each year due to diarrhoea, of which 90 percent is directly attributable to unsafe water and sanitation.
It added that one in four children under five years of age exhibit severe stunting, while 1 in 10 are wasted, due to frequent episodes of diarrhoea and other Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene-related diseases.
