Ocha-Brigade Ends Open Defecation, Urination In Onitsha

The Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra State (Ocha-Brigade) claims to have ended open defecation and urination in Onitsha, one of the world’s largest commercial cities.

Speaking to journalists in Onitsha, Mr. Ejike Odife, one of the Coordinators of the agency enforcing environmental cleanliness between Boromeo Roundabout and Head Bridge Onitsha, Uga Junction, and Ogbaru Local Government Area, stated that the Ocha-Brigade has won the war against indiscipline and the culture of impunity in Onitsha.

Odife stated that before the formation of Ocha-Brigade, all gutters and drainages in Onitsha were completely clogged with faeces and people urinating indiscriminately in public without regard for air pollution or other environmental hazards.

He stated that, for example, at Ogbo-Ogwu Bridge Head Onitsha, marketers openly urinated into the gutters, with heaps and heaps of faeces deposited in the gutters, posing serious environmental health risks.

He did, however, sigh with relief that the Ocha-Brigade had achieved 80% sanity in the area by clamping down on people who engaged in open defecation and urination.

Odife also stated unequivocally that open urination and defecation are illegal everywhere in the world, including Nigeria, where they are also prohibited by the National Environmental Law.

He stated that open urination and defecation could spread diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and a variety of other deadly illnesses because water and edible substances could be contaminated as a result of such unhealthy practices.

He also stated that human effluence on the environment could lead to chronic waterborne diseases such as cholera, which is why Ocha-Brigade is arresting people who deface the environment through open urination and defecation.

Odife emphasised that offenders are quarantined for close psychiatric examinations, stating that only an insane person would expose his manhood by urinating in public.

Odife also stated that they have mobile courts where offenders are prosecuted and sentenced to fines or community service.

Although he mentioned that they faced several challenges during enforcement, he also mentioned that politicians, government officials, security agents, and high-ranking individuals interrupted their duties with intermittent phone calls requesting the release of relatives who violated environmental regulations.

Odife, on the other hand, praised the Managing Director of Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (Ocha-Brigade), Mr. Celestine Anere, whom he described as a no-nonsense person who is always ready to intervene when the pressure from individuals to release their relatives who have committed offences becomes unbearable.

He stated that Ocha-Brigade will now install “No Trading On The Road” signs around Onitsha and that anyone who violates the order will face jail time. He also stated that Ocha-Brigade ensures that waste contractors conduct waste evacuations regularly to ensure that Onitsha is clean, healthy, and habitable for people living and doing business in the densely populated commercial city.