Environmentalist wants sanctions for open defecation

An environmentalist, Dr Deji Akinolu, has called for penalty against those who defecate in open places thereby polluting the environment, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has reported.

Akinolu said defecation in open places in sub-Sahara Africa remained a great threat to the environment and healthy habitation.

He said such penalty would curb the habit of polluting the environment by defecating in open places.

According to him, open defecation exposes human population to dangerous bacteria which can threaten the lives of the people in the long run.

Akinolu said the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) report on the menace of open defecation in sub-Sahara Africa was alarming.

He called for continuous and comprehensive enlightenment of the people about the dangers inherent in the habit.

“Enlightenment and sensitisation should be all-inclusive to curtail such act.

“Government at all levels should make building without toilet a criminal act for the purpose of making the environment habitable for all,” he said.