It has been long for Danlami Adamu to use commercial public toilet in Kano. Whenever in need, Adamu would use toilet at home, office or somewhere else. One day he had a running stomach at a garage where he took his car for repair. He was directed to a nearby public convenience. To Adamu’s surprise, the toilet manager charged him N60, not the N20 he used to pay few years ago.
When he asked the manager why the hike, he said was due to increase in the prices of petroleum, water supply, soap, bath sponge, among others. The manager bragged that he is among those charging lower, as others collect up to N100 for using toilet at a time.
Although for years, Nigerians are feeling the bite of rising inflation in the country, the hike in prices of commodities and services, occasioned by the recent removal of fuel subsidy has worsened the situation.
READ ALSO: IPPIS in trouble for failing to remit workers’ N26.6bn
Commercial toilets are also not spared from the hike in prices as users are witnessing increase in charges, situation that poses a threat to the effort to curb open defecation in the country.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, Nigeria will need to build no fewer than 3.9 million toilets annually to meet the ending open defecation practice by 2025 target.
BizPoint reporters in Kano, Kaduna and Lagos states visited some public conveniences and observed that charges of the services rendered had increased significantly.
A public toilet in Kaduna
Our reporter visited a public convenience at the popular Kantin Kwari Textiles market, where the manager, Mansur Abubakar admitted that there had been increased in the charges.
Abubakar attributed the hike in charges to the soaring prices of commodities, which according to him, is a must for their business to survive.
According to him, due to epileptic power supply, they had to heavily rely on generator for smooth running of the toilets, lamenting that the price of petroleum had skyrocketed that they had no option than to increase the charges.
Apart from petroleum, according to Abubakar, prices of soap, bath sponge, disinfectants and other needed commodities had snowballed.
“We have to buy fuel to power our generator because we are having epileptic power supply. We use this generator to boost our water to tank that will go through the taps because we use borehole. As you can see, our toilet is situated on top of a two storey building.
“Sometimes when our generator gets faulty, we have to buy water from water vendors. We used to buy a jerry can at N50, now it is N100,” he said.
Abubakar pointed out that they were buying a pack of soap at N250, now it is N500, as a roll of sponge, which they were buying at N3,500, is now up to N9,000.
A public toilet in Apapa, Lagos state
He said they are now charging N70 for defecation, which was N50 before, N100 for bath as it involves using soap and sponge, and N20 for urinating, explaining that bath and urinating were charged at N50 and N10 before,respectively.
He explained that the price of defecation was increased to N100, adding that “looking at the economic situation, we decided to reduce it to N700.
Another public toilet operator in Apapa, Lagos state, Abdulra’uf Umar told BizPoint that petroleum price hike is the reason virtually all public conveniences jerked up their charges.
Umar said few years ago, the charges were N30 to N50 but now they must charge N100 if they want their business survive.
“They have suddenly increased the price of petroleum. Our business relied heavily on power. Now the prices of our services must automatically increase. Prices of commodities have jerked up, what do you expect?.
“We are now charging N100 for either bath or defecation. If a customer wants to do the two, he has to pay N200. Let me tell you that the turnout of my customers has reduced and that has affected my business.
“Before the removal of fuel subsidy, i used to make more than N20,000 a day but now I hardly make N10,000. The situation is terrible. We appeal to government to intervene and bring succor to us,” he appealed.
In Kaduna state, our reporter visited some public toilets at Katsina road, Makarfi Road in Rigasa, Igabi Local Government, Chikun Local Government and Kaduna South and Kaduna North where he found out that the operators charge uniformly.
A public convenience in Kano
Our reporter observed that the prices have gone up from N50 to N100, situation that worsen the economic condition of some residents of the area who rey on public toilets to ease themselves.
‘We hold shit in our belly’, Nigerians groan over high charges
Some Nigerians have expressed their displeasure over the high charges being experienced at public toilets, saying “apart from the increase, we do not get value for our money”.
A customer at a public toilet at Kantin Kwari market in Kano, who identified himself as Farouk, lamented that the increase in price has inflicted hardship on them as they have been forced to be “holding shit in their belly”.
According to him, the market is bad to them as they are recording low turn out of customers, but the prices of essential services are skyrocketing day in day out.
“How could one afford to go totoilet three times in a day. Each round is N100, making it N300 a day for using toilet. That is why we hold the shit in our belly. We all have it held in our stomch until we go back home to do it for free there.
“if the market is booming, no problem but in this situation, these prices are too much for us. Just recently we were paying N30 for toilet but now N100, is too much,” he said.
The Kaduna residents also expressed dismay over high toilet charges.
According to Mallam Mohammed Salisu of Katsina road roundabout, most of the public toilets are largely unhygienic, which poses a great danger to residents who use them when pressed.
He added that the first time he used a public toilet around Katsina Road he barely lasted two minutes before hurtling out, almost suffocating.
Another resident, Kailani Mahmoud of Makarfi Road, Rigasa in Igabi said, within this year alone, the charge for public toilet use in the area had gone up from N20 to N50, stressing that the amount being charged is not something most of them can afford.
Another resident of Sabo Tasha in Chikun Local Government said,” sometimes getting money for food is a problem, then you pay N100 for toilet? Imagine if you have a running stomach and you have to visit the place like five times, that is a lot of money,” he lamented.
Also, a customer in Apapa, Lagos state, Ibrahim Sani described the situation as unbearable, saying “it has affected us in so many ways.”
Sani said as money is difficult to get, it is worrisome for Nigerians to be paying as much as N100 to use public toilet.
“We call on government to intervene. It is difficult to get money and the money is not much considering our demands. That means we should be exhausting our money in toilets? It is difficult indeed.
“ Something that I was recently paying N50 has now doubled. We need intervention,” he said.
Situation threatens effort to curb open defecation
BizPoint understands that if the high charges at public conveniences continue rising, it may affect efforts to curb open defecation, which results to outbreak of diseases and costs the governments huge amount of money to address the situation.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, Nigeria will need to build no fewer than 3.9 million toilets annually to meet the ending open defecation practice by 2025 target.
Jane Bevan, UNICEF Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, WASH, said this at the opening of a two-day Maiden Toilet Business Owners Conference in Abuja in July. .
Ms Bevan said that current toilet construction in the country stood between 180,000 – 200,000 toilets annually, describing it as inadequate.
She said the conference was timely as toilet business owners were key to ending open defecation challenges in Nigeria.
According to her, there is a need to do things differently by creating demand for toilets. The private sector could play a huge role in sustainability and strengthening sanitation markets in the country.
Bevan, quoting the 2021 WASH National Outcome Routine Mapping on Nigeria’s sanitation status, said 48 million people practice open defecation, while 95 million were without access to basic sanitation services.
“About 1.3 per cent of GDP or N455 billion is lost annually due to poor access to sanitation – health, health care savings and productivity.
“Every dollar invested in water and sanitation results in economic benefits ranging from 3 dollars to 34 dollars.
“Nigeria cannot continue business as usual or it will miss the target of 2025 and 2030. There is a need to strengthen and scale up proven strategies to reach the country’s goals.
