CredoWriters: Wakdok,Samuel Stephen.
The fact that we have more water system than pit toilets today doesn’t mean that we have an improved water supply. Rather we have succeeded in having more empty pipes without water running in them. We have only derived a better means of digging wells exclusively for the rich called boreholes. With the streams and the rivers drying up, with the water table going further down, with pipe borne water disappearing, with the dams functioning at an all time low, with the lakes drying up, Nigeria has gradually become a nation of “Thirsty People”. Water a free gift of nature, abundantly present every where is now a luxury, this is a paradox.
“About two-thirds of Nigeria lies in the watershed of the Niger River, which empties in to the Atlantic at the Niger Delta, and its major tributaries: the Benue in the northeast, the Kaduna in the west, the Sokoto in the northwest, and the Anambra in the southeast. The Niger is Africa’s third longest river and fifth largest in terms of discharge. Several rivers of the watershed flow directly to the Atlantic, notably the Cross in southeastern Nigeria and the Ogun, Oshun, and Osse in the southwest. Several rivers of northeastern Nigeria, including the Komadugu Gana and its tributaries, flow into Lake Chad. The lake rests in the center of a major drainage basin at the point where Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon meet. Kainji Lake, created in the late 1960s by the construction of the Kainji Dam on the Niger River, is Nigeria’s only other large lake”. Microsoft Encarta 2009.
The rivers, lakes and dams we have are enough to make Nigeria not only produce enough water for the needs of the people but also to make us a net exporter of water. Water is gold in its liquid form that is used for human and animal consumption, for domestic and industrial use, for private and commercial use. The prospecting, production, processing and distribution of water are worthwhile ventures that both the public and private firms can tap, tame and channel into profitable ventures. Unfortunately over the years we have not only wasted water but we have allowed water and sources of water to run wild and they are fast running dry.
Population explosion, immigration, global warming, desertification and deforestations, lack of adequate investment in water and associated infrastructure have all combined to endanger water and the millions of people who depend on water for drinking and as a means of livelihood. The rate at which the provision of water is declining, I am afraid we have more blood running across the country than water. Yet we have a federal ministry of water resources with the 36 states each having a state ministry of water not to mention the various water boards. These ministries and boards just read out mere statistics without improvement in the actual volume of water. With the debut of sachet and bottled water for drinking , “mai-ruwa” for household use and tankers for commercial and industrial use or digging of bore holes, the citizens have relieved the government of the responsibility of providing water, why then do we still have budgets running into billions of Naira for a lame duck ministry? Why not liberalize the production and distribution of water and set up a National Water Commission to regulate the sector?
The dynamics of water and its recycling will not only provide water for drinking, it can also feed, employ and earn foreign exchange for the country. The water boards can give up their rusty pipes to Independent Water Producers; and create water districts for competent water providers to bid for. These Independent Water Producers can dam their water or drill massive boreholes to generate enough water for processing and distribution in their various water districts. Smaller companies may concentrate on distribution only while bigger ones may focus on drilling and dams according to their economies of scale. Above all researches must be carried out to get the best possible way of producing sustainable and safe water at affordable rates. These will help in meeting the rising need and demand for water, this will go a long way in sustaining life by making safe water available, affordable and accessible to our people.
If countries like the Gulf States and Israel who sit on deserts can adequately provide water for all year use why will a country like Nigeria which sits on massive water bodies be running dry? It is only a fool who thirsts in the abundance of water.
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The whole country itself is a paradox. The water crisis is simply one of many symptoms.
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