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- Pix(above): VP Osinbajo, GCON, receiving the award on behalf of PMB
President Muhammadu Buhari, Amina Mohammed, United Nations Deputy Secretary General and Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu, Minister of Water Resources, were, on Friday, November 18, inducted into the World Toilet Organisation (WTO)’s Hall of Fame for their indefatigable efforts in ensuring Open Defecation Free Nigerian society, through a programme, ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet.’
Also honoured with the National Open Defecation Free (ODF) achievement awards were 12 governors, for their frontline efforts in the campaign against open defecation in their respective states.
They include Mohammed Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa) who received a trophy as the overall champion; Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina); Samuel Ortom (Benue); Sen. Bala Mohammed (Bauchi); Prof. Ben Ayade (Cross River); Alhaji Bello Matawalle (Zamfara); Udom Gabriel Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom); Mai Mala Buni (Yobe); Adebayo Oyetola (Osun) and Prof. Charlse Chukwuma Soludo (Anambra), among others.
It was, indeed, a beehive of activities as the World Toilet Organization (WTO), World Bank representatives, UNICEF, Organized Private Sector in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (OPS-WASH) and stakeholders around the world all converged on the Capital Territory of Abuja on Friday, as the World Toilet Summit 2022 began in Nigeria.
Founder of WTO, Prof Jack Sim, congratulated the award recipients for the progress made in the fight against open defecation in Nigeria and spurred them to do more.
According to him, he started the WTO as no fewer than 2 million children were dying of diarrhea every year, noting that open defecation “is unspoken everywhere, but progress cannot be made without discussing it.”
He expressed delight that many world leaders are now becoming toilet champions, even as many entertainment and movie stars are making blockbuster movies about toilets. Meanwhile, this is a subject that was hitherto unspoken.
He further explained how sanitation innovations can enhance economic development in a country, saying: “when a country is clean, it attracts investments, and when there are investments, there are jobs and high productivity when people are not sick. When a country thinks clean, eventually their brain becomes clean, and corruption and pro-graft mafia often disappear. In Singapore, there is no longer corruption after we cleaned up the toilets, streets, and rivers.” Jack Sim enthused.
While expressing gratitude to WTO for the award and choosing Nigeria to host the 2022 World Toilet Day, Buhari maintained that come 2030, Nigeria seeks to end open defecation in all its ramifications nationwide./SHARE THIS
- Tags: PMB, VP Osinbajo, Amina Mohammed, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, Alh Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, Jigawa State, WTS