Residents of Itun Agan Defecate in Lagos Lagoon, Group Says, Petition Amuwo Odofin LG Chair Over Lack of Sanitation Facilities

On World Toilet Day, Nguvu Change Leader John Ogunsemore has drawn attention to the urgent need for safe sanitation facilities in Itun Agan, a 100-year-old riverine community in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, Lagos. 

Ogunsemore also launched an online petition urging Valentine Buraimoh, the Chairman of Amuwo Odofin LGA, to address the dire sanitation crisis. 

“The lack of basic sanitation infrastructure is not only an affront to human dignity but a grave public health and environmental hazard,” he stated.

The community, home to over 10,000 residents, currently lacks public toilets, leaving residents, including the elderly, pregnant women, and the ill, with no choice but to defecate openly in the Lagos Lagoon.

“Not to mention its impact on human health and dignity… It is unimaginable that in this day and age, the lack of public toilets is forcing residents, be they aged, ill or pregnant, to climb over wooden boats in order to defecate openly in the Lagos Lagoon,” he told West Africa Weekly. 

A National Crisis of Sanitation?

Despite Nigeria’s strides in achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF) status for 135 out of its 774 Local Government Areas, the country still faces significant challenges. UNICEF estimates that Nigeria requires 20 million additional toilets to meet its Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of eradicating open defecation by 2030.

Earlier, WAW reported that the Minister of Water Resources, Prof. Joseph Utsev, had cited funding challenges as one of the significant setbacks in Nigeria’s efforts to achieve its Open Defecation Free (ODF) target by 2030. 

Speaking on Friday in Abuja during activities marking the 2024 World Toilet Day, Utsev revealed that while an annual budget of N10 billion is required to sustain the initiative, only N5 billion has been released. He also stated that Nigeria needs to build an additional 11.6 million toilets to meet its target.

However, Utsev stressed that achieving ODF status requires more than just constructing toilets, highlighting the need for increased awareness and proper utilisation of the facilities.

Call to Action 

For Nigeria to meet its goal of ODF by 2030, Ogunsemore emphasises the need for immediate action in Itun Agan and similar underserved communities.

“Without intervention, Nigeria will miss its target of becoming an open defecation-free country by 2025,” he warned.

Speaking to THISDAY earlier, the Baale of the community lamented the lack of social amenities before and after being moved under the Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area.

“Itun Agan Community was founded by my father, Chief Emmanuel Ikuesan alongside his two wives Rose-Anna and Elizabeth, in 1905. The community was first under Badagry Local Government Area before it was moved to Ojo Local Government and later Amuwo Odofin where it presently is,” he said.

“Since our cmmunity was moved under Amuwo Odofin LGA, the government has deceived us. As you can see for yourself, there are no social amenities at all.”

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