The persistent practice of open defecation in residential areas within Kano metropolis which often portends serious health risks to many residents is becoming alarming, Kano Chronicle observed.
Numerous uncompleted buildings, waste disposal sites and some public parks across the metropolis have virtually turned into public lavatories by people who routinely visit such places to answer the call of nature.
It was gathered that the main culprits of the practice of open defecation include child beggars (almajirai), hawkers, drug addicts, motor park touts and laborers among others.
Our reporters, who visited uncompleted buildings where the practice take place at Farm Centre, behind the popular Marhaba cinema, some parts of the Trade Fair Complex and the railway line at Gandun Albasa, observed that the places were turned into public toilets without regard to health hazard the ugly attitude has for residents living around.
A resident of Zoo road, Auwal Ibrahim, who works at a private company located at the Trade Fair complex, complained that the stench that emanates from the excrement-littered areas was unbearable that it sometimes induces nausea and sickness to many people working in the area.
“I know a street close to a popular mall that became almost impassable because it was too messy to access. At a time, you can see up to five people squatting shamelessly in broad daylight answering the call of nature. It’s so unfortunate,” he said.
Another resident, Aminu Sharada, who resides at the Sharada Industrial Estate, said most of the labourers that work for the companies situated in the area engage in open defecation because not all the companies have enough toilets.
“Most of these labourers simply find quiet areas mostly during evening or late hours to do their thing. You only wake up in the morning with over-powering odor assailing your nose. This is very unhealthy and it could cause serious epidemic like Cholera if care is not taken,” he noted.
On his part, Abdullahi Muhammed, blamed inadequate public toilets for the menace of open defecation and appealed to the state government to provide more public toilets to address the problem.
“To be honest with you, this issue of open defecation is not restricted to a particular set or class of people, sometimes it could affect anyone. When you are pressed and there is no any public toilet insight, you don’t have a choice but to take the easy way out to relieve yourself,” he said.
When contacted the state Commissioner of Environment, Dr. Ali Abubakar Haruna Makoda said his ministry had captured the construction of more public toilets within the metropolis in the ministry’s 2016 budget to address the situation.
Makoda said Kano had only 24 public toilets in the metropolis which were inadequate considering the huge population they were meant to serve.
However, he said, to check the situation and health risk it exposed members of the public, the ministry captured construction of more public toilets to tackle the situation, and also to ensure that people live in clean and hygienic environment.
“We will kill two birds with a stone through this; first we will address the issue of open defecation which endangers the lives of our people. Second, the toilets could provide employment opportunities for people that will be engage to manage them.
“To compliment state government effort, the Federal Ministry of Environment has recently conducted an assessment exercise on the locations on which to construct three public toilets. This will definitely ease the difficulties faced by members of the public when they are pressed, especially in markets and motor parks,” he said
The commissioner lamented that some people developed the habit of defecating in the public even if there was a public toilet nearby.
He said: “Notwithstanding, some people just developed the habit of defecating anywhere they deem fit. So I am appealing to such people to refrain from such act which is dangerous to the well being of the general public.”
