This blog post intends to revisit the issue of water and sanitation, beaming the light on Nigeria, a country blessed with enormous human and natural resources but rated topmost in terms of corruption by Transparency International due to misuse of its capital resources. It is pitiful to learn that more than half the Nigerian population are lacking clean water. In virtually all urban Nigerian cities, with worst picture seen in rural areas, it has now become a routine to see most women and children roaming the streets in search for clean water; this recalcitrant situation has led to women wasting their valuable time and energy in search of water, which ordinarily they would have spent either cooking, caring for the family or helping their children read their books or do their assignments. Interestingly, I read an online editorial of the Daily Trust Newspaper of December 1, 2010, with a caption: “69m Nigerians lack safe drinking water – Survey,” and found that piece interesting. The survey was carried out by Global Initiative for Women and Children, an NGO operating in the country. The group further revealed that in addition to the 69 million people who do not have access to safe drinking water, there are also 103 million people who do not have access to adequate sanitation facilities in Nigeria. Very pathetic in all senses! It is a result of this development that the group spokesperson at a workshop in Kaduna said GIWAC would partner with the Women Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative, an NGO, seeking to provide those communities who lack access to drinking water and sanitation to be able to prevent water and sanitation related diseases. This is through provision of boreholes before the end of the nine months project’s duration period in which the European Union would provide fund for the project. In Nigeria, the cost of managing water-related diseases is adding more burden to the already strained health sector, a situation which is completely preventable if there is due diligence and commitment on the part of the government. In a UNICEF report, which I read on the web, water-related diseases are among the most common cause of illnesses and death affecting mainly the poor in developing countries. It further stated that there are about 4 billion cases of diarrhoeal diseases per year, causing 1.8 million deaths with over 90 per cent among children of under-fives. In another report, which I read, the World Health Organisation in 2004, diarrhoeal diseases accounts for an estimated 4.1 per cent of the total daily global disease burden and is responsible for the deaths of about 1.8 million people yearly. Interestingly, 88 per cent of this is as a result of unsafe water supply and poor sanitation and hygiene, a condition which is mostly seen in children of developing countries. It is disheartening to note that despite 50 years of independence and billions of dollars as annual budgetary allocation to the ministry of water resources, the Nigerian government is still unable to provide its citizenry with clean drinking water in this 21st century. I came across another interesting article on the web titled: “Water in Nigeria: valuable yet unavailable,” in 1999 through 2007, over N357.86 billion was allocated by Nigerian government to the provision of safe drinking water and to date the problem is far from over a clear indication that the elected officials have totally failed their electorates. It is puzzling the fact that several developing countries, especially those neighbouring countries to Nigeria – Chad, Ghana, Togo, etc – whose GDP is far below that of Nigeria, are able to provide adequate and clean water supply to its populace. In an ideal situation, a country like Nigeria shouldn’t experience any scarcity of clean drinking water considering the fact that the rivers, lakes and streams in Nigeria have not disappeared. We have abundant fresh water that can be channelled to various water treatment plants to undergo the due process of filtration and chlorinated (and other processes which are not technically complex to run) and then subsequently get distributed through its supply network to reach its end-users. Considering the billions spent by successive governments since independence trying to provide clean water supply, it is right to say that corruption has taken toll in the country and now spreading from the top to those at the bottom of the managerial pyramid. With hindsight, Nigeria of 60’s through 80’s was able to provide its citizenry with clean drinking water despite the fact that it was a period of rather low technological advancement globally.
Mari is of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri, Borno State.