Nigeria: The Lack of Drinking Water and Dangers of Water Boreholes
By Emeka Chiakwelu
In classical physics, the study of fundamental principle of matter gave us
the law of conservation of matter which states that matter can neither be
created nor destroyed. Water is a matter and the quantity of water in
In terms of provision of drinking water to poor populace, we do not have
to necessarily compare
The costs of setting up water treatment plants are minimal compare to the
waste that
UNESCO documented that, “Water-related diseases are among the most common causes of illness and death, affecting mainly the poor in developing countries. They kill more than 5 million people every year, more than ten times the number killed in wars. The diseases can be divided into four categories: water-borne, water-based, water-related, and water-scarce diseases.”
The consequences of drinking contaminated and polluted water in
Waterborne diseases have causative agents
and “are caused by pathogenic microorganisms which are directly
transmitted when contaminated fresh water is consumed. Contaminated
fresh water, used in the preparation of food, can be the source of food
borne disease through consumption of the same microorganisms. According
to the World Health Organization, diarrheal disease accounts for an
estimated 4.1% of the total DALY global burden of disease and is
responsible for the deaths of 1.8 million people every year. It was
estimated that 88% of that burden is attributable to unsafe water
supply, sanitation and hygiene, and is mostly concentrated in children
in developing countries. Waterborne disease can be caused by protozoa,
viruses, or bacteria, many of which are intestinal parasites,” according
to
Wikipedia.
Nigeria according to UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, “Guinea
worm and onchocerchiasis( River blindness) are endemic water-borne
diseases in certain parts of Africa's most populous country (Nigeria) of
more than 120 million people. UNICEF had decided to emphasise water and
environmental sanitation after realising that the occurrence of diarrhea,
a major childhood killer in
In search of drinking water
Due to the
government inefficiency especially on the States and Local government
levels, the energetic and pragmatic Nigerians are restoring to digging
water boreholes for our children and families to quench the water
thirst. The people cannot wait any longer for their elected officials,
who refused to do the job of providing clean water to their neglected
constituents.
Gradually the
governments are joining the people in digging water boreholes and even
appointing commissioners who channel funds for the project. This might
look good even sounds good but the government in this case is in the
wrong direction. The government should go and resuscitate the dormant
water work plants and rebuild them. Then start providing tap drinking
water and not digging boreholes.
Most of these boreholes are exposed to
underground pathogens and pollutants especially E-coli that is
responsible for stomach upset that comes with diarrhea and massive lose
of fluids. In the undergrounds the water might also be exposed to the
natural radioactive nuclides and nature’s occurring hazardous metals (As,
Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sn, and Tl)
these heavy metals as
they are called are toxic with carcinogenic properties. Therefore it is
highly recommended and intrinsic that water from the boreholes is
sampled for laboratory analysis and bio-chemical analytical before
consumption.
The ubiquitous
drilling and digging of the ground soil for water may weaken the soil
surface with an enhanced porosity. With such vulnerability and lesser
cohesion, the ephemeral soil might trigger erosion. These erosion
gullies are already prevalent in
On this World Water Day,
Nigerian government must understand the ramification of abandoning its
basic responsibility to the people. The government should provide to the
people of
|