A Borderless PrisonBy Zayyad I. Muhammad
The recent census figures show that the population of Nigeria has geometrically risen to 140 million, but public access to basic needs including water supplies has not; water scarcity and population growth are two correlating issues; it is no more news that millions of Nigerians are coping with scarcity of clean, portable and affordable water. The United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/47/193 of 22 December 1992 by which 22nd March of each year was declared World Day for Water, which was first observed in 1993, in conformity with the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) contained in Chapter 18 (Fresh Water Resources) of Agenda 21. This 22nd day of March will be world water day (WWD), the year 2007 WWD is themed: coping with Water Scarcity
Availability of clean water is a fundamental issue for socio-economic development of every nation, as Nigeria’s population is swelling in a geometric rate, there most be an increased effort in developing clean water allocation strategy, because as population and development increases, the quest by the public, especially the poor for clean, portable and affordable water for domestic use, increases. Millions of Nigerians have no access to clean and portable water; coping with water scarcity is a challenging responsibility that requires decision makers to bringing water related issues to the top of political agenda; it is a global believe that poor communities suffers the greatest burden from inadequate water supplies, but in Nigeria, poor communities, rural and urban areas are facing the dilemma of coping with scarcity of clean water.
The year 2007 world water day (WWD) is themed ‘coping with water scarcity’. At childhood age, waking–up in the morning, picking a bucket and rushing to queue or search for water is an activity that million of people thought it is the culture and tradition of their people, but in later part of life one realizes it isn’t so; but something is wrong, there is a colossal neglect for provision of this commodity that every body uses every day.
UN world water development report indicated that, most of the largest cities in Africa, less than 10% of their inhabitants have sewer connections; only 10 to 30% of all urban households’ solid wastes are collected, the continent houses 13% of the world’s population that is without access to improved water supplies and sanitation, Africa has large disparities in water availability, and the lowest water supply in the world, despite the fact that, Africa houses four out of the 5 biggest water reservoirs in the world; Owen falls located in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, Nasser in Egypt, Kariba in Zambia and Zimbabwe, and the Volta in Ghana
The United Nations general assembly, in 2003 proclaimed the years 2005 to 2015 as the international decade for action ‘water for life’; these commitments include the Millennium Development Goals to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015 and to stop unsustainable exploitation of water resources. At the World Summit in Johannesburg in 2002, two other goals were adopted: to aim to develop integrated water resource management and water efficiency plans by 2005 and to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people who do not have access to basic sanitation, can Nigeria achieved these, with our uncontrolled rapidly growing population, wide spread scarcity of clean and portable water, poor access to sanitation and health, limping capacity-building, inadequate financing and little or poor advocacy strive, poor Resources Management and unreliable energy.
With a population of 140 millions people, with an average human water consumption of four liters a day, Nigerians need 0ver 560 million liters of clean water a day! Although population growth projections are uncertain, but soaring rate of population growth is typical of most sub-Saharan African countries.
Political leaders who get water by a touch of a tap or squeezing of a bottle’s cap, need to know the world water day celebration has to go beyond conferences and seminars, and populations census has to be repositioned to serve only for developmental purposes especially in planning for strategy in allocation of safe water, rather than the unnecessary politics attached to it, it is believed that demand for water doubled as population grow, therefore, our strategy for provision of safe, portable and affordable water most take into reflection our population growth, for Nigeria to achieved the Millennium Goal Development (MDGs), the NEPAD objective and the NEEDS programmes to yield fruitful result , a proactive and pragmatic safe water provision programme most be put in place, a system that would give the poor access to clean and portable water source that is reliable, dependable , maintainable and responsive to population growth, because MGDs, NEPAD and NEEDS programmes cannot succeed in a society with high population desolated by water- borne diseases.
For millions of Nigerians, the end of one tedious day mark the beginning of another, the first thing that comes to the minds of millions of Nigerians in the early morning of every day is where to get clean water from rural to urban areas, women and children have to travel distanced-long to quench their thirst, many cannot go to school or go to school late; we all hoped of life free of disease, but today million of children are battling with water-borne disease, some are blinded while many are crippled.
As Nigeria is celebrating the world water day, millions of her citizens have left their homes traveling hundreds of kilometers in search of water to quench their thirst. Those at the top who quench their thirst by a squeeze of a bottle’s lid, those that would be sitting at conference and seminar halls celebrating the world water day; time has come to recognized that it is hard at the bottom.
Zayyad I. Muhammad writes from Jimeta, Nigeria |