Public toilets in sorry state

Public toilets are usually found in government establishments and institutions, airports, road sides, markets, stadia, worship centres, gardens and motor parks to mention a few. They are used by many people and are expected be clean at all times.  However, findings by Daily Trust show that most of these toilets are usually dirty,  with the […]

Public toilets are usually found in government establishments and institutions, airports, road sides, markets, stadia, worship centres, gardens and motor parks to mention a few. They are used by many people and are expected be clean at all times.
 However, findings by Daily Trust show that most of these toilets are usually dirty,  with the floors and toilet seats covered with faeces, urine, water and used toilet tissues among others. They therefore emit unbearable stench.
Sometimes the workers charged with the responsibility of cleaning the facility only do so in the morning and do not check and clean the place as people use them through the rest of the day. In some cases, they may not be cleaned for days.
 In spite of the state of these toilets, many people are often forced to use them because of lack of alternatives  to answer the call of nature especially after having spent a long time at a place as a worker, or visitor.
A person could visit a toilet with six rooms but not be able to use any because the toilet seats are poorly maintained, in a state of disrepair or dirty.
Cases abound of tourists and foreign guests, who enter public toilets only to dash out immediately because of the poor state of the facility.
 At the Federal Secretariat, Abuja which houses many ministries, departments and agencies of government, smell of urine greets you as you pass by the areas where the toilets are located.
Most of the toilets are often under lock and key with only staff having access to them.
A woman who spoke to our reporter on the condition of anonymity said the toilets were locked out to visitors so that people would not mess up the place.
However, findings revealed that the fact that they were mostly used by staff do not make them clean either. Even when visitors to the secretariat get keys from the workers to use the toilets, they  usually found them in bad state.
At the Ministry of Health, it was observed that most of the toilets were locked but this reporter was lucky to meet a cleaner who directed her to the security men on the first floor to use the convenience.
At the time this reporter visited, the toilet was fairly neat, but the floor was covered with water dripping from one of the pipes. One of the toilets was also used as a store for discarded plumbing materials.
A source who did not want to be named narrated how in December last year, he walked from the 1st floor to the sixth at the secretariat, where the Ministry of Health was located but could not find any toilet to use because they were all locked. Officials of the ministry told the source that they were all locked up because water did not run to enable users to flush the toilets after use, and that the ministry had no money to purchase water for use.
In Kwara State, there are very few public toilets and the ones in government offices were nothing to write home about. They smell so much that they forced visitors away.
The ones visited by our correspondent were not properly taken care of as those in charge of cleaning them have abandoned them because they didn’t receive their salaries regularly, a source said.
Another  problem is that most of the toilets lacked water, which is further compounded by the industrial action by the staff of the state water corporation which has lasted for many months.
In Kano, most toilets in schools and offices were in such a bad state  that unless seriously pressed, one could not go there to ease him or herself.
Fatima Usman, a student of one of the tertiary institutions in Kano, said she had been avoiding her school toilets because of their conditions.
 “Before leaving home in the morning, I make sure I perform my ablution and ensure that I maintain it up till the time when school closes late in the evening. I do that to avoid entering the school toilets which are an eye sore and also hazardous to our health,” she said.
The Audu Bako Secretariat located in the heart of Kano city houses many ministries. Important as the place is, the toilets they are not in a good shape,
 “You cannot enter the toilets at Audu Bako Secretariat because they are unkept,” said a visitor to the secretariat, Ibrahim Musa.
Similar conditions are obtained in public hospitals.
At the Oshodi motor park in Lagos, people prefer to patronize mobile public toilets where they pay N20,  than the public toilets which are often dirty, Daily Trust gathered.
The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ayinke House, Ikeja has two public toilets for everyone, and another for members of staff which is usually locked.
The floors of the toilets, not far from the gate, were very dirty and there was dirty water everywhere. The tap was running but the water closets weren’t flushing, water have to be poured manually. 
Outside the toilet, the stench was strong, with a refuse bin and stagnant water around the environment.
At the second public toilet opposite the critical care unit, there was only one water cistern open for use.
Public toilets are not common features in many towns in Oyo State, particularly Ibadan, the state capital, and where such facilities are available, they are only found in some market places and motor parks.
Public toilets are also found in some locations within the state secretariat complex, though they are always under lock and key, leaving visitors at a loss as to who to contact when pressed.
Most times, the toilets lacked water, and faeces strewn all over the place despite the fact that people are charged only token for using them.
Dr. Omo Izedonmwen, a public health physician, said apart from the public health issue of environmental pollution,  people could get infections from toilets that are dirty or in a poor state.
“Most times, when toilets are dirty, people do not use the toilets, they would defecate and urinate around the toilet seat, as such germs and infections can be transferred from one person to the other.
“Also, faeces itself is a veritable source of transmission of all kinds of diseases which could range from bacterial, to worms  and viral diseases,” he said.
The public health physician said some diseases that one could contact from such toilets include hepatitis A, worms and typhoid fever among others.
He called for concerted effort to clean public toilets to safeguard public health.