Unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene in Nigeria's public spaces: the political economy angle

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) services in public spaces are examined from the political economy perspective in Nigeria. Through field observations and interviews, the study observed that WaSH practices at public spaces are less than optimal on account of poor or outright absence of necessary WaSH infrastructure and weak or non-existent regulation and enforcement of necessary standards, among other challenges. Socio-economic factors related to the category of users and the proprietary interests of specific spaces largely accounted for WaSH services inequality. It is argued that the failure of the state to guarantee functional WaSH infrastructure and enforce standard practices opens space for differentiated practices and standards consistent with specific interests.