In commemoration of this year’s World Toilet Day, about 500 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) staged a rally in Ibadan on Saturday, protesting against rampant open defecation in Oyo State.
Adorning Hypo Toilet Cleaner crested vests on their khaki trousers, the corps members walked from the NYSC Secretariat at Agodi Gate through Total Garden, Mokola, and the Lekan Salami Stadium at Adamasingba. During the rally, they campaigned against open defecation, emphasizing the importance of personal hygiene, the necessity of having houses with toilets, and discouraging indiscriminate waste disposal.
The Corps Liaison Officer (CLO) for Ibadan North 1, Mr Onanuga Ibrahim, expressed concern about living in an area where people dump their waste indiscriminately. He noted the observation that several houses in Ibadan lack toilets, and many people share toilets, while others resort to defecating in open spaces, nearby bushes, pathways, or streams.
Another corps member, Mr Ishola Jamiu, highlighted the observation that some individuals without toilets in their houses resort to defecating in polythene nylon bags and then dumping them on medians or in waste drums.
Addressing the corps members, the Area Marketing Manager for Hypo Toilet Cleaner in the South-West region, Mr Buchi Maduka, urged them to extend the campaign against open defecation and promote the importance of personal and community hygiene to their various Places of Primary Assignment (PPA). Maduka noted that Oyo and the South-West States have the highest prevalence of open defecation, and the goal is to eradicate open defecation in Oyo while promoting safe hygiene practices.
He assured the corps members that sensitization against open defecation will continue in markets and schools. Maduka also emphasised his company’s commitment to building and renovating toilets brought to its attention by the corps members through a program tagged ‘Toilet Rescue.’
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