A New Approach to Urban Sanitation

The journey began with a simple question: What if human waste was not treated as waste? For 15 young fellows of the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy, this inquiry led to a 10-kilometre walk, the renovation of a public toilet at the Ojota Motor Park, and an ambitious attempt to convert human faeces into biogas.

Their project, aptly named “PeePoo to Power Lagos,” is designed as more than just an intervention against open defecation. It is a strategic attempt to change how Lagosians perceive sanitation, waste, and individual responsibility. The initiative serves as a practical demonstration of youth-led problem-solving within the state’s busy urban centers.

Conceived by the third cohort of the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy Fellowship Programme, the project served as their capstone assignment. Fellows were tasked with identifying a critical community problem and developing a viable solution through direct engagement with residents, transport workers, and traders.

So, our fellows are here doing something we call their capstone project. Every year, with their new cohorts, we invite them with the necessity, with the need to do something to promote their communities, to find solutions to a problem in their community.

— Mrs. Ayisat Agbaje-Okunade, Executive Secretary, Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy

Transforming Waste into Value

After evaluating over 25 ideas, the fellows identified the persistent challenge of open defecation and indiscriminate urination. They concluded that the issue was not merely a lack of infrastructure, but a matter of behavioral perception. The team decided that the best way to address the problem was to demonstrate that waste possesses inherent value.

At the Ojota Motor Park, the team installed a biodigester system designed to convert human waste into biogas. The objective is to restore dignity to public facilities and make sanitation an attractive alternative to open spaces. By integrating renewable energy components, the project aims to turn a public health hazard into an off-grid energy resource.

Instead of asking, ‘How do we stop open defecation?’ we began asking, ‘How do we change the way people think about waste?’ That question became the foundation of PeePoo to Power Lagos.

— Bayode Oke Thomas, Team Lead, PeePoo to Power Lagos

Special Adviser to the Governor on Climate Change and Circular Economy, Titilayo Oshodi, noted that the initiative aligns with the state's broader environmental goals. She emphasized that residents must recognize the consequences of indiscriminate defecation on public health and the environment.

People need to start to see that everything that is being excreted as waste has a value. It has a use for it. Faecal waste, wee and poo, is useful to generate electricity off the grid.

— Titilayo Oshodi, Special Adviser to the Governor on Climate Change and Circular Economy, Lagos State

Challenging Individual Responsibility

The project highlights a common contradiction in urban life: the tendency for citizens to complain about poor sanitation while contributing to the problem through individual actions. Leadership at the Academy stressed that addressing open defecation requires a shift away from blaming institutions and toward personal accountability.

It's the easiest thing. The laziest thing is to point fingers, as opposed to looking at what you're doing to contribute to the problem. You don't have to be the one to cause the problem for you to solve the problem. You can always solve someone else's problem.

— Mrs. Ayisat Agbaje-Okunade, Executive Secretary, Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy

To ensure the project's sustainability, the Academy utilizes a rigorous selection process for its fellows. Out of over 60,000 applications for the current cohort, only 30 candidates were selected following a four-month assessment of leadership, critical thinking, and communication skills. These fellows brought together diverse expertise in engineering, healthcare, policy, and environmental advocacy to execute the Ojota project.

Scalability and Future Impact

Ojota was chosen as the pilot site due to its status as one of Lagos' busiest transport hubs. The fellows integrated infrastructure upgrades with a 10-kilometre awareness walk to connect their message with the physical facility. The goal is to move the conversation regarding sanitation from abstract slogans to tangible, clean, and safe facilities.

While the current cohort has completed the initial phase, the project is expected to continue through collaboration with relevant government agencies and the Academy's alumni network. Previous fellows have implemented similar impactful projects in healthcare and renewable energy, which remain under periodic monitoring to ensure long-term functionality.

Our vision was simple: transform waste from a problem into a resource. As Team WEEPOO, we believe this is not merely a sanitation project. It is a movement that transforms challenges into opportunities.

— Bayode Oke Thomas, Team Lead, PeePoo to Power Lagos

The project stands as a testament to the potential of a circular economy in Lagos. By turning a private decision—the use of a toilet—into a public resource, these young innovators are betting that the road to a cleaner city begins with seeing value in what others discard.