The Oyo State government and the private sector have been called upon to invest in public toilet construction to curtail open defecation and its attendant diseases.

A cross-section of Ibadan residents made the call in separate interviews with journalists on Saturday.

The respondents described the absence of public toilets in places like markets, motor parks, and worship centres as a big threat to citizens’ general well-being.

Elizabeth Oloruntoba of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, said human excreta, containing pathogens responsible for many diseases, should not be carelessly disposed of.

According to the professor of environmental health sciences, if faeces of infected persons get into the environment, they can go through routes like water, flies, and handshakes to trouble other persons.

“We have a big problem at hand as many households, schools, healthcare centres, marketplaces, and some shops springing up in living areas do not have toilets for people to use.

“It is time for all to come together and work on ensuring people have access to sanitation.

“Women and the girl-child should be remembered as stipulated in SDG 6.2, and they should be given special preference to ensure that toilets do not constitute hazards but safe places to go,” she said.

Ms Oloruntoba said the public should be aware that excreta could be resources containing nutrients capable of being recycled and returned to the fields to improve food yields.

A landlord, Kareem Adeleke, alleged that many of the houses along the Kudeti and Ogunpa canals and other water channels in Ibadan lacked good toilets.

He said residents in these areas had turned the canals into places to pass their excreta.

Mr Adeleke, therefore, urged the government and private sector to construct more public toilets with good water in selected densely populated communities in the city to prevent the outbreak of diseases.

Similarly, a trader at Oranmiyan Sheep and Goat Market, Adebimpe Salami, urged the state government to provide the market with additional water sources.

She noted that the availability of sufficient water would allow meat sellers to wash their products thoroughly before selling them to the public.

Meanwhile, a civil servant, Wale Ademola, called on the government to partner with interested private individuals and organisations to build “pay-to-use” toilet facilities in markets and other public places.

He said the arrangement would enable investors to adequately maintain the toilets and recoup profits and the capital invested in the toilet construction.

“Government can also formulate policies that will give low-income earners the privilege to access soft loans at low interest to construct moderate toilets in their houses,” he said.

(NAN)