OF WATER SUPPLY AND BOREHOLES
Water is life. The authorities should make it available to all
Water is a fundamental requirement of daily life. It is a vital nutrient for drinking, for household use, and for food production. Water is important to good sanitation and, indeed, public health, and generally to poverty reduction. Yet after 25 years of unbroken democratic rule, and 14 years after the United Nations made access to water and sanitation a human right, millions of Nigerians have no access to the most basic of needs – safe and sufficient water. As a result, many depend on water from untreated and sometimes contaminated wells, streams, ponds, and rivers.
Across the country, there is hardly any area that relies on public water as the supply of pipe- borne water is by far more epileptic than electricity supply. Unlike in the 60s and 70s when public taps are everywhere, including rural areas, and when the thirsty could stop by to wet their patched throats on warm days, it is now almost impossible to find one, even in the most cosmopolitan of cities. The water corporations hardly function as many are moribund. As it is, millions of Nigerians now resort to self-help – sinking boreholes to meet their water needs. Any new building is now incomplete without a borehole, even if the boreholes constitute their own problems as they are dug indiscriminately.
In September 2018, there was an outbreak of multiple earth tremors in some parts of Abuja which jolted the city and caused many residents to agonise in despair. For three days, the rumbling of the tremor sparked fears in the communities of Mpape, Katampe District, part of Maitama and some rural communities within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Findings of the presidential assessment committee set up by the federal government were revealing of the dangers we face, especially from human activities. “There is the need to regulate the exploitation of ground water resources of Abuja via indiscriminate sinking of boreholes because this has been the primary reason for the stress build up leading to the Abuja tremors”, the presidential committee reported.
It is unfortunate that many Nigerians are still battling with severe cases of water shortages, especially in the rural areas. Children and women trek distances to get the commodity, the quality of which is often suspect. With about 60 per cent of the landmass covered by water, it is sad that the country still grapples with severe water issues. It is even more worrying that Nigeria’s level of access to clean water is reportedly lower than those of other peer countries on the continent. Yet, potable water and improved sanitation services are robust measures for fighting poverty and diseases.
Only recently, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) bemoaned the fact that millions of Nigeria lack access to drinkable water. “In Nigeria alone, a staggering 113 million people suffer from painful hardship and crippling deprivation of water,” said CAPPA Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi. Even the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, has joined in the lamentation that access to clean water remains a luxury for too many Nigerians.
Even if we need time to fix some of the issues, do our political leaders also need more time to provide one of the most basic amenities to the people? Safe and sufficient water facilitates the practice of hygiene, which is a key to preventing diarrhoeal diseases as well as acute respiratory infections and many more. So, why this solemn indifference? When is the time enough? One of the most pressing sustainable development goals reiterates that safe water and clean sanitation should be available for all by 2030. There is nothing on ground to suggest that Nigeria will meet that deadline.
