As India is aiming to be open defecation free in the current year, Nigeria aims to be the next leader in terms of open defecation. The African nation of Nigeria will now study how ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ can be adopted in the Nigerian context. Writing for The Indian Express, Minister of Water Resources, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Suleiman H Adamu said that the success of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) has encouraged Nigeria as well.
The Nigerian minister claimed that the African nation is going to remodel its Open Defecation Free (ODF) campaign similar to SBM. Earlier, Suleiman H Adamu had visited the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Conference (MGISC), in October 2018. Praising the Modi government’s initiative, the minister said, “My participation at the MGISC was truly inspiring. Most importantly, I was able to get the real feel of SBM and how it has dramatically changed India’s sanitation story within so short a time. I was awed and sold.”
However, this is not the only instance when the Swachh Bharat initiative of the NDA government got global recognition. Earlier, a study carried out by the WHO into health gains emanating out of the SBM (Gramin) concluded that it would result in avoiding more than 3 lakh deaths between 2014 and October 2019. The study was conducted by the WHO at the instance of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) in order to make an assessment of the health gains resulting out of the flagship program.
At another instance, Ruskin Bond, a renowned author said that India has become much cleaner after the adoption of Swachh Bharat Mission. But old habits die hard and there are challenges in addressing the issue appropriately, he added.
Suleiman H Adamu also emphasised that SBM stands to inspire other countries, as it has done mine, and is a testimony to the global community. He further praised Modi Government for its political will and went on to add, “Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets are achievable provided there is strong political resolve, the strategy is appropriate, resources are adequately deployed and the population is sufficiently mobilised.”
On one hand, SBM is getting the global appreciation, while on the other hand, there have been some Indian leaders who mocked the Swachh Bharat Mission. Speaking on the eve of the first anniversary of SBM, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal claimed that the initiative of the Modi government is nothing but ‘showbaazi’. “In the last one year, I haven’t seen any action apart from advertisements or showbaazi. I can’t see any street which has become clean. I want to say that we all should work on this. Let us all talk less and work more,” he added.
On a similar note, former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav mocked the SBM and called it strange broom challenge. “Don’t understand what kind of debate is going on in the country and the world over. People have started taking bath with cold water and are talking about it. At the same time, a strange new challenge has been started in the country over the broom,” Yadav said.
However, the interest that Nigeria has shown will serve as a reply to all those leaders. Swachh Bharat Mission is perhaps one of the biggest achievements of the Modi government so far. Swachh Bharat Mission finds its place among the likes of the Green Revolution and the White Revolution in terms of a combined national effort of the people in the country.