Little knowledge is always dangerous. It leads to wrong readings, perceptions and actions on a particular issue.
Ignorance was described by John Foster in 1821 as “waste howling wilderness” to which many people have been consigned for lack of knowledge.
This seems to be what is happening to many Nigerians on the issue of the National Water Resources Bill before the National Assembly – while they have not had the time to read the provisions of the bill, they have found the time to imbibe the personal views of those who deliberately want to castigate the bill for self-serving reasons.
The gullible members of the public can be educated and saved from ignorance, but it seems there is nothing one can do about those oppose to the bill for their selfish interests and have, therefore, taken a path to perdition.
First, ignorance is human nature, after all the state of the advancement in scientific inquiry depends critically on asking questions about what we do not yet know.
Secondly, our decisions, as human, are most of the time set against the background of our massive ignorance about the past (past water resource laws, for example), the present (2020 National Water Resources Bill), and the future (which we all can anticipate or forecast based on past and present realities).
I don’t know if one or all the ministers were once classroom teachers; because the pedagogical approach they took to remove our ignorance is superb.
They carefully collected the various ignorantly construed misgivings expressed in the public domain and address them respectively.
The Ministry of Water Resources activities under the leadership of Engr. Adamu have been guided by the National Water Resources Master plan (2015 – 2030); United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; and the Water Sector Roadmap (2016 – 2030).
Now to address the fears of Nigerians on the 2020 National Water Resource Bill.
The starting point is to insist that “there is nothing new” about the bill, to the extent that it was, indeed, an amalgamation of several past Acts on the subjects.
These include:
- Water Resources Act, Cap W2 LFN 2004
- The River Basin Development Authority Act, Cap R9 LFN 2004
- The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (Establishment) Act, Cap
- N1100A, LFN 2004 and
- National Water Resources Institute Act, Cap N83 LFN 2004
For clarity, they also posed and answered the burning question: Why have the laws being re-packaged?
They premised this on the need to “bring them in line with current global trends as well as best practices in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM),” with the overall objective of achieving efficient management of the water resources sector for the economic development of Nigeria and the well-being of its citizens.
Nigeria’s water resources are enormous, but only when these are professionally and efficiently managed can their full economic potential be realised and serve the purposes of domestic and non-domestic use, irrigation for agricultural purposes, including fishery, generation of hydro-electric energy, navigation and transportation, and recreation.
For these, the nation’s water resources need to be protected, developed, conserved, managed and controlled in a sustainable manner.
These are the intentions of proponents of the bill, and necessitate the imperative of the creation of an enabling environment for the public; promotion of private sector investment; establishment of licensing frameworks for the financing of the water sector.
The disturbing part of the whole controversy is that many of those criticising the bill might not have read its detailed provisions.
Rather than seeking to “take over the nation’s water resources by licensing and commercialising the use of water” the bill is only affirming the regulations that commercial borehole drillers obtain a license from the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the NWRI, Kaduna.
However, the bill is assigning the role of provision of a database as a requirement by NWRI to states, under the delegation of the national regulator, the Water Resources Regulatory Commission.
There is nothing unusual about a borehole driller, whether corporate or individual, who is technically-competent submitting technical assessment before being granted a license
On critics’ contention that the bill is illegal, citing the Supreme Court, which held that the power of physical planning in any state of the Federation is exclusively vested in the state government and that the National Assembly lacks the power to legislate on the physical planning outside the FCT, the ministers said a Physical Planning Bill should not be confused with a Water Resources Bill!
The assertion that the Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government does not have the power to approve or issue license for digging boreholes in any part of the country
Communities on River Banks are guaranteed undisturbed use of water as stated in Section 3 of the bill.
Also, all occupiers of land are guaranteed the right of abstraction for domestic and sustenance, whether by borehole or rivers.
Section 3 reiterates the right of persons to continue to access water without charge for subsistence and preserves existing customary rights to water.
The intention of the bill is not to take the resources of a certain part of the country for the use of herders.
In other words, that the federal government is seeking to implement RUGA by subterfuge.
The bill reiterates the fact that land can only be acquired by any of the institutions established in accordance with the Land Use Act. Almost all the institutions have state representatives.
The Regulatory Commission Board comprises representatives of the six-geo political regions.
The State level basins management includes representatives of each state in the Basin.
The fear of “water wars” in the country is unfounded since this is a phenomenon usually associated with relationships between countries.
In view of the dynamics between knowledge and ignorance and the competing and contrasting worldviews, coupled with the dirty politicking that shapes our polity, it is always good to spend quality time and budget to carry the populace along.
This is to ensure that the intent and purpose of policies and laws government are proposing understood by the public.
Ignatius Aifuwa, Ph.D. contributed from Abuja.
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