Activist To Ambode: Public Urination Can’t Be A Crime Until You Provides Adequate Public Restrooms

Moves by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State to criminalize public urination has been condemned by a Warri-based rights activist, Comrade Zik Gbemre.

Gbemre noted that peeing in public places cannot be a crime until the state government make provisions for adequate toilet facilities for public use, maintaining that anything outside that would be anti-people.

BigPen Online recalls that Lagos State Government had in a bid to rid the environment of all infractions, arrested five individuals for urinating openly on the streets of Lagos.

The arrest of the individuals was made when the Special Adviser to the Governor on the Environment, Mr. Babatunde Hunpe, was on a sanitation inspection tour of some local government areas in the state.

The State government had made it mandatory for all petrol stations and eateries in the State to make their toilets available to members of the public whom he urged to always avail such facilities for their convenience, in addition to the public toilets in the state, but the situation on ground regarding this issue is not as simple as that.

But reacting to the development, Zik Gbemre, who is the National Coordinator of Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC),
said it was wrong for the state government to ask petrol stations and eateries in the State to make their toilets available to members of the public when government itself have not make public restroom adequate in all corners of the state.

Gbemre contended that it is only when the Lagos Government has provided more than enough such public toilets across the State, that it could arrest and prosecute anyone found urinating or defecating in public

In a statement made available to BigPen Online on Thursday, Gbemre said while his group was strongly in support of the goal to keep the cities/urban towns and villages clean, and commended the Lagos State Government for its sanitation intervention initiative that was inaugurated to cart away refuse, it is wrong to be arresting people over open urination, like the Special Adviser to the Governor on the Environment, Mr. Babatunde Hunpe, had done to the reported five persons.

The statement read in part: “We are aware that the said Special Adviser had stressed (during his recent tour of the State to ascertain the performance of the sanitation intervention initiative), that it

“Firstly, it is one thing for the government to make it mandatory (on paper) for all petrol stations and eateries in Lagos to always avail such facilities for convenience to the public, it is another thing entirely for the said petrol stations and eateries to actually adhere to this directive in reality.

“Unless one is seen patronizing a petrol station or an eatery, many of such public places would not readily open their doors to the public to use their convenience facilities.

“Also, ‘nature calls’ can happen to anyone at any place and at any time. Not that we are encouraging or supporting people who urinate or defecate in public, but the question is, what then happens to someone who, perhaps is in an area where there are no petrol stations or eateries, and the person is seriously pressed?

“The same thing applies to areas where there are no public toilets, where then will somebody that is seriously pressed be able to seek relief?

“It can be argued that there are public toilets in the State, as reiterated by the said Special Adviser, but from what we can deduce, it is obvious that these public toilets are not close to being enough for a mega city like Lagos.

“Hence, we believe the first point of call here, is for the Lagos State Government to aggressively provide more than enough clean public toilets that are regularly maintained and have running water.

“It is only when the Lagos Government has provided more than enough such public toilets across the State, that could arrest and prosecute anyone found urinating or defecating in public.

“In other words, the Government has to play its part on this issue by providing enough public toilets/convenience facilities around the State, before they can be justified in their actions to arrest defaulters.

“But let it be known that “arresting people here and there for ‘answering nature’s call’, is not the solution to this problem”.

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