It was a pleasant surprise to read in the news that the President, Muhammadu Buhari, had signed an executive order titled Open Defecation Free Nigeria by 2025 and Other Related Matters Order, 2019 committing Nigeria to be Open Defecation Free by 2025; this entails that Nigeria intends to achieve part of Target 6.2 of the Sustainable Development Goal 6 five years earlier than the set target of 2030.

This order comes a year after the president had declared a state of emergency in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector as regards open defecation. Open Defecation is a condition where human faeces are disposed of in fields, forests, open bodies of water, beaches or other open spaces or disposed of with solid waste. So, without a doubt, this order is most welcome because it recognizes the magnitude of the consequences of Open Defecation and the need for all hands to be on deck in tackling this problem. It also comes at a time when discussions about the protection of the environment and its importance are on the front burner with countries exploring more sustainable life practices by coming up with laws and policies that protect the environment and invariably affect the lives of their citizens positively.

A brief perusal of the order shows that it establishes a Clean Nigeria Campaign Secretariat within the Federal Ministry of Water Resources charged with the implementation of the order. It also seeks to put into effect the National Open Defecation Free Road Map which was developed by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources in 2016 with the support of other key sectors in Nigeria, the United Nations Children’s Fund, European Union and UKAid. According to the Roadmap, the target for 2025 would be to stop people from defecating in fields, forests, open bodies of water, beaches or other open spaces or dispose of excreta with solid waste. This means that while defecating in open spaces will not be allowed, unimproved sanitation options remain viable with the option of moving up the “sanitation ladder” to improved sanitation options; that is to say pit latrines without a slab remain viable with the option of changing to piped sewer system sanitation facilities.

An interesting point that bears mentioning is the timeline as contained in the roadmap. It is as follows:

2016- 2017 – State of preparedness and a period of transition: It contains a 21-number list of activities that should be carried out within this first two years, a couple of which involves surveys and consultations. It serves as the preparatory stage, especially for States that have not commenced WASH/Open defecation related activity.
2018 – Assessment: An independent agency, covering both institutional and organisational status on the implementation of the road map, should assess the state of preparedness of states to find out ways and means to overcome the gaps to achieve their open defecation free (ODF) objective
2019- 2021 – Years of consolidation and moving forward: This is a period for the acceleration of efforts since the states have crossed the period of state preparedness, have prioritized the areas of intervention and know where the shoe pinches.
2022 – Year of Self-Assessment: States should sit back and see the loose ends that need to be tightened before making a final assault on the goal of making the state open defecation-free.
2023- 2025 – The Final assault: Maximum acceleration will take place during this phase. By this time many LGAs in the State and even some States would have already achieved the ODF status. By the first half of 2025, all remaining LGAs should declare their status so that they can go through the certification process to be declared an ODF LGA as contained in the road map document.
Nigeria is showing that it does not want to be left behind especially in light of the economic, health and social implications of not protecting the environment. It is also laudable because of the political will that has been exhibited by the government to “…protect and improve the environment and safeguard the water, air and land…” as provided for in Chapter 2 Section 20 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (1999) (as amended) (the Constitution).

In as much as this order is worthy of commendation, I cannot help but have a few concerns. My first concern is on the timeline; I wonder if the next five years will be enough to achieve an ODF status for the entire country especially if the roadmap sought to be put into effect is yet to be revisited in order to align it with the realities of the time left, the resources available, the level of awareness, as well as population of the country. Also, in as much as it is an executive order, it’s implementation will be at the local government levels as it is constitutionally supposed to be in light of Section 7 and Fourth Schedule paragraphs (e) and (h) of the Constitution and considering the nature of the practice which requires close monitoring and policy-implementation. On this issue, some states may not have the structure needed to closely monitor and implement the program because the local governments are either poorly staffed or altogether non-functioning. Also, the National Assembly does not have powers to make any laws penalising Open Defecation for the whole country, except the Federal Capital Territory. In the same vein, the federal ministries e.g. Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Federal Ministry of Environment, Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs cannot make policies for the states. Therefore, all States, their state houses of assembly and counterpart ministries at the state level will have to be on board to achieve an ODF status in their constituencies. Government Departments and Agencies such as the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Abuja Environmental Protection Board and their state counterparts will also need to work together to achieve the objective of the order.

It is, bearing the above in mind that I recommend that the roadmap be revisited by the Secretariat and appropriate adjustments be made to avoid a waste of resources by 2025. Conscious efforts should be deployed to achieve a level of independence for the local governments. In as much as the road maps suggests “Providing water and sanitation facilities may be made mandatory for highway eateries, wherever available”, I propose that the Federal and State governments attach a sense of urgency to this aspect because of the recognised need for sanitation facilities in our highways; these facilities should also maintain a certain standard for environmental sustainability. Consultations with relevant stakeholders such as town heads, women groups, local entrepreneurs etc. should be prioritized as it is key to achieving any set objective. This will also foster ownership of the facilities that will be provided. Vulnerable groups of women, children, the aged and persons living with disabilities (PWD) should be considered in building the facilities; the structure of the facilities should user-friendly. There should be no assumption that everyone is aware of the danger of this practice. Sensitization and engagement are necessary to have all hands on deck. Finally, forward-thinking should be deployed to see to the maintenance of the ODF status once achieved. Therefore, as much as policies and laws will be passed imposing penalties, incentives should be created for every party that helps in achieving or achieves the ODF status.

The president has done well in signing this order. This order lends credence to the issue and the importance of dedicating resources to tackling the same. I am particularly excited about the process as well as the outcome of this order, the roadmap and the efforts of all that will be involved.

EZINMA UKAIRO is a lawyer, environmental rights advocate and languages enthusiast, having led and consulted on Igbo language translation projects. As a corps member, she proposed and led a Community Development Service (CDS) project to #HelpStopOpenDefecation with her fellow corps members. It was a Sensitisation/Data gathering project on Open Defecation in Abuja the report of which can be found here.

You can reach her via email: [email protected], twitter as @ezinmau or LinkedIn