Over 179m Nigerians living in unclean environment – Study
Over 179 million Nigerians are living in unclean environment, a new report has revealed.
This was made known at the seventh edition of the public presentation of the State of the Nigerian Environment (STONE) recently in Abuja.
According to the report signed by National Coordinator Clean-Up Nigeria (CUN), Mr Ene Owoh, it is an improvement over the 183 million recorded in 2023.
The report followed the Cleanest State Champions event tagged “STONE 2024 Unplugged.”
He states that life expectancy in Nigeria fell from 44 years in 2023 to 40 years in 2024.
“STONE aims to highlight the importance of environmental cleanliness and sustainability in Nigeria, recognizing the efforts of the six zonal cleanliness champions and encouraging others to follow suit.
Mr Owoh noted that Nigeria’s sanitation situation is a mixed bag. On one hand, the country has seen a slight improvement in reducing open defecation, from 24% in 2023 to 20% in 2024.¹
“This progress has pushed Nigeria from the top spot in open defecation worldwide to the second position, with India taking the lead.
However, there are still significant challenges. Twenty-eight out of thirty-seven states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) outside Abuja, are rated as unclean. This is a slight increase from thirty-one states in 2023.
He explained that in terms of waste management, only four states – Akwa Ibom, Enugu, and Abia, along with Lagos showed a 4% improvement in procurement of waste management equipment in 2024.
“Funding for sanitation initiatives has also decreased, and the health of sanitation workers has deteriorated, with a drop from 31% in 2023 to 28% in 2024.
Owoh said that the annual Cleanliness Performance Index rating ranked Akwa Ibom and Abuja as cleanest states in Nigeria which enabled some states to show commitment to environmental sustainability.
“Akwa Ibom recently unveiled massive improved waste equipment combined with improving its sanitation of citizens, offering valuable insights for improvement.
“The zonal emphasis rating fosters regional integration, making the competition more relevant to local environments.’’
“The yearly Cleanliness Performance Index Rating, chaired by Prof. Solomon Balogun, Chairman, STONE NTSG, recognised Akwa Ibom as the cleanest state in the South-South, Enugu State in the South-East, Lagos State in the South-West, Plateau in the North-Central, Borno in the North-East and Kaduna State in the North-West.
“By highlighting successes and challenges in each zone, the zonal approach will inspire positive and responsibility among citizens for their local environment.
“This, in turn, will enhance six consecutive years’ effective data collection and analysis from 2018 to 2023; these six zonal cleanliness champions were awarded the prestigious STONE Green Crystal Award in 2024.
“This will promote healthy competition, driving self-improvement and targeted interventions to change and showcase best practices,’’ he said.
According to Owoh, the zonal ratings will provide a more accurate assessment of strengths and weaknesses on a zonal basis, enabling states within each zone to benchmark themselves against one another.
He assured that the zonal rating would equally promote healthy competition, drive self-improvement and target interventions to change and showcase best practices.
