Some of the world’s biggest artistes and advocates are heading to South Africa next week, to celebrate the life, legacy, and unfinished business of Nelson Mandela.
Tagged Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, organisers say the festival will be a historic event and the largest campaign for the United Nations’ Global Goals that the world has ever seen.
Nigeria’s talents like Femi Kuti, Tiwa Savage, D’Banj, and Wizkid are expected to perform alongside international stars like Beyoncé & JAY-Z, Cassper Nyovest, Ed Sheeran, Eddie Vedder, Kacey Musgraves, Pharrell Williams & Chris Martin, Sho Madjozi, and Usher.
Following the campaign launch in July, Global Citizen started a digital campaign encouraging Nigerian governors to prioritize water and sanitation.
Wizkid, the Nigerian singer and global superstar also lent his support to the campaign, inviting governors to join him at the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, to be hosted by the Motsepe Foundation, on December 2, 2018 in Johannesburg.
In a series of tweets, Wizkid called on governor of Lagos, Akinwunmi Ambode, to invest in “eliminating barriers for Nigerians,” which starts with quality education and proper sanitation for everyone.
Promoters say, since the launch of the campaign, more than 145,000 Global Citizens have taken action, while urging Nigerian state governors to invest in sanitation. “Currently, 70% of Nigerians do not have access to a toilet, which often causes life-threatening diseases, decreased school attendance, missed work days, and poverty,” they said.
Governor of Cross River State, Professor Benedict Ayade, and his counterpart in Ondo State, His Excellency Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu have both heard Global Citizens’ calls to action and promised to announce commitments to sanitation at the festival.
“I will be personally there to speak strongly for Africa and to speak on that international platform,” said Professor Ayade. “Open defecation for us in Cross River State is a thing that we find unacceptable, particularly in urban centres, because of the close accommodation,” he said. “But we do know that the greater challenge is not in advocacy; the greater challenge is the infrastructure.”
A lack of sanitation disproportionately impacts girls and women. It is a leading barrier for girls who want to access an education. It stops them from enrolling in school and their inability to manage their periods at school causes them to miss a significant number of days.
Study says open defecation does not only cause social stigma but it is also a factor contributing to violence against young girls and women. One-quarter of women defecating in the open in slums in Lagos had either first- or second-hand experience of harassment, a threat of violence, or actual assault in the previous 12 months, and over two-thirds felt unsafe using a shared or community toilet in a public place, according to a study sponsored by Water Aid in selected slums in Lagos.
Cross River’s and Ondo’s investment in sanitation is a big step in the right direction.
