61 years after, Nigeria still in search of potable water

By Baba Martins (Abuja), Christiana T. Alabi (Lagos), Bassey Willie (Yenagoa), Mumini AbdulKareem (Ilorin), Ibrahim Musa Giginyu (Kano) & Hope Abah Emmanuel, Makurdi

Despite gaining freedom from its colonial master, Britain, 61 years ago, Nigeria is still battling to provide its citizens with potable water.

Although the situation was said to be a bit different during the early period of independence, it is getting worse as many Nigerians, especially those in the rural areas, now drink from any source available.

Many factors are said to be responsible for this, including a growing population, and most importantly, bad leadership.

A public affairs analysist, Toyin Ahmad, noted that the government both at the federal and state levels had been spending huge amounts of money on water projects.

But, according to him, there is a difference in terms of performance and delivery between the First Republic and post-war administrations; both military and civil.

Ahmad added that there were great differences between the politicians of the independence era and those of today in terms of honesty and commitment to service delivery.

An 86-year-old Minna-based businessman, Alhaji Ganiyu Abdulrosheed, said the water situation in the late 60s and early 70s was a bit normal, but that because of the population growth, insecurity and bad leadership, the situation was getting worse year in year out.

Many Nigerians wonder why after over 60 years of independence basic necessities like water should still be issues for a country that is blessed with natural and human resources.

Many of those who spoke with Daily Trust on the issue adduced reasons ranging from mismanagement of resources, lack of will by political leaders, breakdown of equipment and machines and the attitude of Nigerians who always want public utilities without paying for them.

According to Alhaji Abdul Abdul, a retired federal civil servant, successive administrations have failed to manage the resources of the country well for the benefit of all.

Alhaji Abdul said, “There used to be water when we were younger, but over the years the situation has changed and many have now resorted to boreholes.

“In the course of my work I stayed in Chukuku, under Kuje Area Council in the FCT, and there was no water all the time that I was there. I’m no longer there, but from what I have heard there is still no water there.’’

On his part, Mallam Isa Hassan said, “I stay in Kawo New Extension in Kaduna and there is no public water supply. Most of the people here are using borehole. I was staying in Ungwan Shanu before I moved to Kawo and there was no water there.”

Hassan also recalled “the good old days”, saying, “I was staying in Lagos State before moving to Kaduna. Where I stayed in Lagos there was water. Those were the good old days, but I don’t know of now.”

Access to water a problem in riverine states 

Lagos and Bayelsa are among the states surrounded by water, but not all residents have access to potable water.

Due to scarcity of water, many Lagosians have resorted to patronising water vendors to meet their daily needs.

Many have drilled boreholes and wells since government has not provided water for them.

A resident of Alapere in Lagos, Dr Solesi Abayomi, described the situation of water in his area as extremely bad, saying there had been no water supply in the area over a long time.

Dr Abayomi said, “Government water has not been flowing. Though some attribute it to sabotage by some residents who sell water.”

Mrs Ogbori, a resident of Surulere, Lagos, told Daily Trust that there was no water in her house and that her family relied on water vendors.

She said she spent about N6,000 to buy water weekly, which she noted was taking too much from the family, particularly, at a time when the economy was not friendly.

The story is the same for Mr Ibrahim Kegbegbe, a resident of Jakande Housing Estate, Lekki. He said he and his family relied on water vendors.

A 25-litre jerry can of water, he said cost N100 and that he bought six daily.

Mr Kegbegbe, who said he had been living in the area since 1990, noted that water from the few available boreholes in the area was not potable because it was salty.

Residents of Bayelsa State have continued to lament over the lack of potable water in various towns, urging the state government to put the state’s water board to use to ameliorate their suffering.

Daily Trust gathered that although the water board was functional from the tenure of the first civilian Governor of the state, Chief Diepreye Alamieyesigha, till Timipre Sylva’s administration, construction works executed by the administration of the immediate past governor, Senator Seriake Dickson, damaged some pipes linking water to residential buildings in Yenagoa, the state capital.

According to the residents, though Senator Dickson’s administration tried to fix the pipes and ensure that the water board was functional, he could not complete it before the end of his tenure.

They argued that almost two years after Senator Douye Diri assumed office, much had not been heard about reactivating the water board.

A resident of Yenagoa, Kabowei Johnson, said if not for the services of water vendors and borehole operators, water scarcity would have crippled Bayelsa State.

He said, “In times past, we were drinking from rivers; we have streams that we were fetching clean and potable water from, but now, those sources have been contaminated because of oil drilling activities.

“You heard what happened in Southern Ijaw early this year, where many people lost their lives to cholera because they drank from contaminated streams.”

He further said it was difficult to drink water from boreholes in the state because of iron and rust in it.

A resident of Sagbama LGA, Victor Obadiah, said the water intervention scheme executed by the government in the town was no longer working.

The people of Otuoke, hometown of former President Goodluck Jonathan, last year accused the state government of wasting N5.9bn on a water intervention project initiated by the federal government by not maintaining the project. According to them, while people in the rural areas depend heavily on polluted rivers and streams, those in Yenagoa buy from vendors.

The federal government in September, 2016, inaugurated a massive water intervention scheme called “Central Ogbia Regional Water Supply Project” in Bayelsa State.

At the headquarters of the Bayelsa State Water Company in Okaka, Yenagoa, a staff member who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the place was not fully operational. 

Same story in Kwara, Kano, Benue

Why has it been difficult to resolve the perennial water scarcity in Kwara State? This is one of the most frequently asked questions by indigenes who see the issue as unacceptable considering its status as one of the “first generation” states in the country.

Created in 1967, the quest for potable water in Kwara started in the 70s during the military regime of Gen Olusegun Obasanjo, when the Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters, Maj Gen Musa Yar’Adua, commissioned the Asa Dam Waterworks.

But several decades after that bold move, not only has the state failed to meet the target of potable water supply, Kwara and Kwarans are worse for it as “effort” by successive governments has failed to meet expectations.

But a former staff of the Kwara State Water Cooperoration, Comrade Abdulrazaq Agaga, said the perennial water crisis was uncalled for if the right things were put in place at the right time.

Comrade Agaga who claimed that the Asa Dam was not enough to serve the entire Ilorin metropolis, lamented that it was unfortunate that despite three plants in Ilorin, the water problem had persisted. 

He said, “Asa Dam was constructed by Julius Berger and we were told that if we prioritised its maintenance with all the necessary equipment like pumping machines and piping network the plant would serve for over 100 years even with a population explosion.

“We have three water plants in Ilorin: Agba, Asa and Sobi, and 96 waterworks across Kwara State, yet we are still having water issues. Some states have only one plant and are better off. Worst still is that that most of the communities around the river banks like Aliara, Ajara and Babaode where these plants are located don’t have water.

“Previous governments tried just like the present government, but the piping network, pumping and booster stations are not enough. We still have some old lines which are no more functioning. We began to have water issues in the 90s when the old equipment started wearing out.”

He, therefore, advised the present governor to assemble all former retirees: plumbers, engineers, electricians, among others, of the corporation who understood the nitty-gritty of the water system in the state to advice accordingly.

Other residents who spoke on the issue complained bitterly.

According to Omowumi, a resident of Odoota, years past, the water situation in her area was epileptic at best, “But since the construction of the Gari Alimi Underpass, the situation has gone worse. Sometimes we get tap water once in a fortnight or a month. We have resorted to using boreholes after several complaints to the government yielded no positive result.”

Kayode Akunola of Odoota area, however, said they had not experienced pipe-borne water in the past years in the community.

In his response to the issue, the Kwara State Commissioner for Water Resources, Alhaji Femi Agbaje, said although the administration had “not gotten there” on the issue of water, it had improved on what it met on ground and was doing a lot more to permanently solve the water problem.

Alhaji Femi said, “When we came on board, having realised that this is an area that is very essential, we identified the problems and discovered that most of our waterworks are not functioning. That is one of the primary ways of getting water across to the populace. So we have renovated most of the ones we inherited and brought them back life.

“But the issue of water supply is that it has to be maintained. Also, with the several boreholes provided across the state, it has ameliorated the suffering of the people. We’re yet to get there, but we have improved on what we met on ground and are still working rigorously to achieve our aim in terms of supplying the people with quality and drinkable water.”

Residents of Kano State say they have lost hope in having potable water because water shortage in the state has been the main issue that various governments tried to address; with no solution.

Challawa, Tamburawa, as well as Watari waterworks, are the main water treatment plants that supply water to the metropolitan area.

Daily Trust findings have revealed that the total water demand of Kano Metropolis is above 550 million litres per day, but the whole waterworks in the state have only been supplying about 200 million litres per day; which is just about 36 per cent of the total demand.

This created a big gap in the required water supply which resulted to the construction of boreholes across the state.

For areas like Sabon Gari, Tudun Wada and Yan Kaba within the metropolis, water scarcity has become synonymous with them.

According to Nura Kamisu, a resident of Tudun Wada, people in his area believe government can never make potable water available in their areas. He said, “Since I was a kid I was told that due to the presence of industries and other manufacturing factories in the area we will not have steady water supply in our taps.

“We are now buying a 25-litre at N30, and sometimes even more than that. We are 100 per cent dependent on boreholes for our daily water supply.”

In the Gandun Albasa area of Kano Municipal LGA, the story is the same as people of the area claimed that they had not seen tap water for many years.

In Sabon Gari, a 25-litre jerry can sells at N50 to N70 even though residents revealed that for over two years the authorities had been trying to fix the water scarcity in the area.

In Benue, Emeka Anyaoku who lives on Ter Guma Street in Makurdi’s North Bank, said water infrastructure had remained underdeveloped in the suburb despite it being about the first settlement in the history of the state capital.

Mr Anyaoku who has lived for over 45 years in the suburb thinks government can do more to erase the water crisis by providing it.

He said, “In 1975 when I came to this city people in North Bank were getting water, but today we are no longer getting water. Now people depend on boreholes and streams.

“The truth is that population has increased overtime and there is development without commensurate advancement of infrastructure like water. Makurdi is not like before, so government has to live up to its expectation.”

But Mrs Rosemary Chinedu, a resident of Lobi Quarters, Makurdi, commended the water board for supplying water to her area frequently compared to some years back when getting public water was a mirage.

Another resident in Wadata, Hassan Jimoh, stressed that getting potable water became “an impossible task” despite the presence of large water bodies in the state until recently when it appeared that the water board was living up to its responsibility.

Our correspondent gathered that what is known today as the Great Makurdi Water Works was designed in 1978 with a capacity to supply 18,000 cubic metres of water per day.

However, the waterworks’ lifespan elapsed in 2000, a development which prompted the state government to in the same year conceive the idea of Greater Makurdi Water Works to meet the growing demand of at least 330,000 people and a projected supply of 47,000 cubic metres daily from an installed capacity of 50,000 cubic metres per day.

However, the dream of the new waterworks was actualised during the administration of Governor Gabriel Suswam between 2007 and 2015. The gigantic project which had raised the hope of residents was short-lived as the problem of reticulation compounded the idea of meeting the water need for all.

A former General Manager (GM) of the Benue State Water Board, Engr Michael Dzungu, in a previous interview with our correspondent, disclosed that the problem of water supply in Makurdi was basically reticulation or lack of pipe network to transport water to the people as the old network had been characterised with weak pipes and leakages.