THE CONDITIONS OF PUBLIC CONVENIENCES IN AGEGE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, LAGOS, NIGERIA

Abstract

In Nigeria, most public places lack quantity and quality toilet facilities.Public conveniences are toilets that allow people to meet their sanitary needs in public places. Properly located and well managed public conveniences are vital because public convenience can be inextricably linked to our identity and personality.Public conveniences are vital facilities that might contribute towards the health and well-being of a Nation. Adequate and quality public convenience facilities will consolidate sanitary efforts to the mega-city concept and significant reduction in health related problems. Consequently, this research work was carried out to study the physical planning implications of public conveniences in Agege, Lagos. The research was conducted using questionnaires and field observation to collect the required data for the purpose of fulfilling the objectives of the study. Structured questionnaires were administered to users and Operator/Managers of these public sanitary facilities in twenty eight (28) locations. Three hundred and twenty seven (327) questionnaires were administered to users of the twenty eight (28) public conveniences,twenty eight (28) questionnaires were administered to the Operators/Managers of these facilities and one (1) questionnaire was administered to the head of the statutory Government Agency. A total of three hundred and fifty six(356) questionnaires were administered in this research. Meanwhile, Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to test the sanitary state of public conveniences and problems faced by users while using them. The findings revealed that the sanitary conditions of the facilities negatively correlate with the problems faced by users while using it. This coupled with improper sanitation and hygiene ethics among uneducated users among others leave unpleasant scene of the facilities. In order to achieve sustainable public convenience provision and management, policy measures are recommended based on the research findings. These include: sanitation mapping of the area, hygiene campaign, mandatory use of signages, institutional capacity building, public toilet upgrading, effective monitory, mandatory legislation and private-public sector participation.