Working as a cleaner in a public toilet in this part of the world is not a job that many would grab with both hands. Most of the people who are engaged in it do so as a matter of last resort and are often looked down on by the society. But our correspondent, INNOCENT DURU, found that it is a job that also engages two members of a royal family in Lagos.
PRINCE Saheed Olaseni Akinsemoyin is a member of the Akinsemoyin royal family in Lagos. But unlike most people with royal blood in their veins, he works as a cleaner cum manager in a public toilet in Oshodi area of the state. And Saheed’s status as a prince was lost on our correspondent until he spoke some polished English that instantly arrested his (correspondent’s) attention. The way he spoke English was a clear indication that he was not one of the street boys usually recruited for the job considered by many as odd.
The fact of his education did not only reflect in his spoken English, it also reflected in the quality of his service. The part of the toilet he maintains is remarkably neat. The compound, the floor and the water closet glitter as if it were a private building or an exotic hotel. On a closer interaction, it emerged that Saheed, whose great grandfather was a monarch, is a part-time student of the Lagos State Polytechnic where he is studying Accounting. Confidently, he introduced himself as a prince from the Akinsemoyin royal family in Lagos.
Explaining what led him into the job, the 40-year-old father of five said: “I am from the Akinsemoyin royal family in Lagos State. The monarchical system in Lagos State then was such that a king was always succeeded by his son. But at the death of Oba Gabaro (his great grandfather’s predecessor), he didn’t have any child that was of age to ascend the throne. Therefore, his younger brother, Akinsemoyin, was enthroned as the king. That was how my family became a royal family.
“But as a prince, I am not shy of this job. Being a prince does not put food on your table. You have to struggle for survival. I don’t want to be a burden on anybody. That was why I decided to be doing the job I am doing. I don’t want to become a king either, because the problems that surround being a king are many. I have had a fair share of life’s challenges and wouldn’t want more for myself.”
Saheed, however, said he was not on paid employment as a toilet cleaner. He narrated how his father took over the operations of the toilet from the Lagos State Government and saddled him with the task of managing it.
He said: “The toilet was built and managed by the Lagos State Government. But at a point, the government had to close it down. My father (who is also a prince) saw it and sought approval from the government to take it over. He went to the state’s secretariat and got government’s permission to do so.
“When my father took over this place, he called me and asked how we would run it. I told him it would not be a big deal for me to manage it. If another person had to manage it, what would be paramount in that person’s mind would be how much money he could make. He wouldn’t mind whether the place is messed up or not. The moment he makes the money he wants to make, he would abandon it and go his way.
“I was a printer before I started handling it. I manage the male side, while my step-mother manages the female section. I see no big deal in running this place. If there is any graduate or undergraduate who feels he cannot work as a public toilet cleaner when he has no means of livelihood, then the person is not serious.”
Saheed noted that the job is riddled with challenges. He said: “I face series of challenges from customers. At times, some of them would have been so pressed that they would defecate on their bodies before reaching the toilet. At times, faeces would have started dropping from their bodies before they entered the toilet. There are some occasions where they would mess up the compound from the gate to the path that leads to the toilet. I clean these up without making trouble with them.
“Some customers clean their buttocks on the floor instead of doing so in toilet’s seat. I pack such and clean up the place. The same thing happens in the female section. Some customers come without money. They would beg you to use the toilet without paying and there is nothing you can do in that situation than to oblige them. You just can’t send them away. And there are others who would come with a sum that is less than they are supposed to pay. We still allow them.
“After a customer had used the toilet and left, I would check to see if it was properly flushed. If it is not well flushed, I would flush and clean it so that the next customer would meet it in good condition. I always make sure that the place is not messed up because you don’t know who would be coming. Lagos State government officials can come in from the Ministry of Health or from the Ministry of Environment. If they come and see that the place is messed up, it would be a problem for us.
“Any other person can also come here to check the toilets. I don’t want anybody to say anything bad about this place. That is why I have always put in extra efforts to keep it clean all the time. I also fetch water for the customers.
While he is happy with his job, he says he always faces rejection and criticism from friends and classmates. “But what friends say about my work does not matter to me. Some of my classmates see it as something horrible. Although some would tell me that there is nothing bad about it as long as it helps me to make ends meet. But the majority of them do condemn it. They would say that they can never do such a thing.
“A lot of other people come here and they commend me. Some customers also do embarrass me anyway. Recently, a customer said that many of my mates are working in the bank and I am here washing toilet. I said well, I am not shy to be here. If he thought I should be working in a bank, he was right. But at the moment, this is where I have found myself.
“I still do my printing job whenever a customer requires my services. I still did a roll up banner for a customer during the week. I brought the machine and did it when customers were not around.”
While admitting that the business could be lucrative if located in the right place, Saheed said he never wished that any of his children would engage in it.
He said: “Public toilet business is one that actually brings in good money, but we are far away from the bus stop where there is always a crowd. Before you get here, you would have seen some mobile public toilets. They get most of the customers because they are near the bus stop.
“The choice to engage in this type of job depends on my children. I don’t force things on people. If they decide on their own to do it, fine. But I would never pray that they do it. I will never pray that my children would pass through what I have passed through in life. I am doing everything possible to make sure that my children have a better tomorrow.
“I look forward to going higher in life. That is certain. But in the meantime, I see nothing bad in managing a public toilet. I want to be self-employed even after my education. I don’t want to go about applying for jobs. What I lack is the financial strength to achieve this. I would thankfully appreciate any assistance from anybody who could help me make my dreams come through.”
He advised unemployed graduates to put shame aside and get something doing instead of idling away. “Opportunities abound everywhere,” he noted. “I learnt printing after secondary school. It was even a girlfriend of mine that said I should go and learn it. Before I came to manage this place, the printing job was my major source of income.
“Graduates should not be contented with their classroom knowledge and certificates. They could acquire other skills that can help them earn a living while waiting for their desired jobs. You don’t have to concern yourself with what people would say. You should be more concerned about what would be beneficial to you.
“If I am doing anything and I know that it is not against the commandment of God and it does not affect humanity adversely, why wouldn’t I go ahead with it if it will fetch me my daily bread?”
Saheed’s step-mother, Alhaja Serifat Akinsemoyin, who manages the female section of the toilet, is also literate. She told our correspondent that she had Grade II teacher’s certificate and had no regrets washing public toilet for a living.
She said: “I have Grade II teacher’s certificate. I taught for a year in Ondo State before I came to Lagos State. I couldn’t continue because Lagos State didn’t accept my transfer of service from Ondo State. That was around 1982. When I couldn’t continue with my teaching profession, I took to buying and selling.
“I decided to manage the female section of the toilet because it belongs to my husband and also because the businesses I ventured into didn’t yield the desired result.”
Like her step son, Serifat says she encounters a lot of embarrassment from her customers who are often quick to write her off as a nonentity.
She said: “I face series of embarrassment on a daily basis. A woman like me would just come and talk to me anyhow. They erroneously conclude that I am an illiterate woman when they see me doing this job, and they address me as if I am not a human being. I am used to all the embarrassment because one thing I have learnt as a public worker is to tolerate people.
“Some would use the toilet and instead of paying N50, they would give me N30 and say that is all they have. Some would even give me tattered notes that banks would never accept, but I would take it from them out of compassion.
“Some women do pooh (defecate) in their tight underwear and ask me to give them nylon bag to wrap it. The women who wear trousers are worse. The faeces or urine would almost be coming out before they pull off their trousers. I mop up the whole thing and it doesn’t irritate me.”
Asked how she feels about the job, she said: “I am not shy about it. I have many friends who have condemned it but I don’t care at all. They would say ‘Alhaja, why are you in this kind of job?’ They would go on to say that very soon, the smell would make me very fat and I would become sick. I always tell them that I can never contract any sickness because the place is always neat. Ironically, I dash this same people money and they take it. Whenever I am in their midst, I count money like a millionaire, especially N50 notes. They collect the money from me in spite of what they had said earlier.
“My joy is that it has made me not to go about begging for money to meet my needs. I make about N1,500 daily. I don’t pray that any of my children would do this kind of job. But if they would have to beg or go about borrowing money or engage in unholy activities, I would prefer they engage in toilet business.
“I also want to encourage unemployed women to look for something to do instead of sleeping around with men to get money. If they have the opportunity of getting a job as public toilet managers, they should not hesitate to do it. It is better than prostitution.”
