Taking decisive action against open defecation

The renewed campaign against open defecation should not become another ceremonial exercise that ends with lofty declarations and forgotten promises. Nigeria has held many conferences, unveiled policy documents and staged publicity events on sanitation and yet remains one of the world’s largest centres of open defecation.  The latest efforts by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, including a renewed implementation drive under the Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet Campaign and the extension of the Open Defecation-Free target to 2030 after missing the 2025 deadline, ought to provoke sober reflection. In 2019, the Muhammadu Buhari administration launched the same initiative wi...