Institutionalizing Resilience: A Proposed Governance Framework for Implementing City-Wide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) in Higher Education Institutions in Nigeria

Abstract

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) function as complex micro-cities, often confronted with the urbanization challenges of their host cities. However, sanitation governance within these institutions frequently remains fragmented, relying on reactive crisis management rather than strategic foresight. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for developing a robust plan for City-wide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) for the African University of Science and Technology AUST), Abuja, positioning the plan not merely as an engineering design, but as a critical instrument for policy reform and institutional advocacy in Nigeria. Using AUST as a prospective case study, the research will employ the CWIS approach to systematically audit infrastructural gaps, service inequalities, and climate vulnerabilities. The aim of this study is to proffer a sustainable sanitation solution which will be up-scaled for national development. The anticipated CWIS framework is projected to serve as a high-level advocacy tool, translating data from mapping into actionable models for resource recovery (water and energy). The framework argues that technical solutions, such as Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS), cannot succeed without a corresponding advancement in policy. The expected outcome of this study will harness how data-driven planning can empower university administration to transition from reactive to planned maintenance and inclusive governance, thus aligning campus operations with CWIS principles with the proposed framework will demonstrate how HEIs can serve as model governance hubs for broader public sector sanitation reforms.