“Time was 12:15 am. Suddenly the storm broke amidst
thunder and lightning. Could it be rain? Forcing ourselves out of sweet
slumber, we came out with kegs and buckets to tap from the free gift of Mother Nature.
The pots and potties were not left out: anything that can hold water must be
filled. Not even the dreaded cold and catarrh could deter us from ‘saving’
against the dry days”.
This was a scene that played out sometimes ago in the polytechnic
town of Iree in Osun state, South West Nigeria. Four years after, the situation
has barely changed. If wishes were horses, students and indigenes of the town would
gallop down the valley of desire wishing the dry season never comes. Pipe-borne
water provided by government is usually in short supply or may never run ‘till
further notice’. The wells are usually dried up. Bore-hole is no options- it is
either not available or damaged. This is the fate of most rural communities in
Nigeria.
“The dry season is often termed ‘passion week’”, an
anonymous source relayed. “For one, we are yet to come to terms with the
scorching heat not helped by frequent power outage, a recurring national shame.
There is also the choking dust, since the roads are bad. The scariest of all is
the trials of water scarcity”, a source submitted.
The scourge of water scarcity confronting most rural
communities in Nigeria knows no gender, when it gets to its peak, both males
and females trek past thick forests in the middle of the night to get water
from rock edifice or river. This is an ordeal because it is like climbing Olumo
rock or Mount Kilimanjaro without the intention of adventure.
About 63.6 million people in Nigeria do not have access
to safe drinking water; this was recently made known by the Country
Representative of WaterAid in
Nigeria, Michael Ojo. To say that lack
of access to potable water is appalling of a nation is stating the obvious. Water,
sanitation and hygiene are human rights central to the attainment of Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).
Unavailability of
safe water may not only lead to the outbreak of diseases like cholera diarrhoea,
dysentery, gastro – enteritis, infectious hepatitis, hook work, guinea worm,
scabies and other parasitic infections especially on children. It may also underpin
education, health and livelihoods for overcoming poverty.
There is no gainsaying the fact that water is a
necessity for a clean and healthy environment. In this age of climate change, a
call for aggressive action to prevent this scourge is a call to action.
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