As the global community observed World Water Day, inhabitants of Minna, the capital of Niger State, and its surrounding areas voiced their distress over the scarcity of clean drinking water in the urban center.
Reports reveal widespread challenges in accessing water for daily necessities throughout the town. Many residents rely on water vendors, locally known as ‘mai ruwa,’ for their water supply, while others, lacking financial means, are forced to embark on long treks in search of water.
Investigations indicate varying prices for water trucks across different areas; for instance, in places like Tunga and Sauke Kahuta, prices range between N700 and N800 per truck, whereas residents of London Street, Anguwan-Daji, Bosso, and Maikunkele face even higher costs, paying between N900 and N1,000 per truck.
Several residents expressed the difficulties they encounter in obtaining clean water for cooking and bathing in their homes, particularly amid economic challenges and the prevailing extreme heat in the state.
Concerned about potential waterborne disease outbreaks due to uncertainties surrounding the water sources provided by vendors, residents appealed to the state government for urgent intervention in addressing the situation.
According to Danladi Danmusa: “Because water is absolutely essential to human lives, the government should step into this situation by ensuring that people have access to clean potable water from its waterworks. People are suffering, it is difficult to find water to cook, bath, wash and clean our environment.”
Mallam Bello, a resident of the Galaxy area, also lamented:
“Water is among the basic things government should provide for its citizens to make life easy for them. Most times, we don’t even know the sources of the water we buy at very exorbitant amounts from water vendors. We all know how precious water is to man.”
A housewife, Elizabeth Bulus, who lives in the Tunga area of the town, also complained about the acute scarcity.
” The water is so expensive to buy from the vendors and with the current economic hardship, where do we get money to keep buying a truck which is not even enough for a family every day? How do we cook and bathe our children or clean our homes and environment to keep sickness away, if we don’t have access to this precious gift?” another housewife, Teni, queried
However, reacting to the development, the Managing Director of the Niger State Water and Sewage Corporation, Mr. Gimba Isah, said the water work was doing its best to supply clean potable water to the people of the state, but for the recent erratic electricity supply to the state by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC.
He also hinged the challenge of providing water to the ongoing road construction in Minna, the state capital, which has forced the corporation to relocate many of its pipes affected by the road work to other locations of the town.
” The relocation of some of these pipes has really affected the water supply in Minna. However, we have taken a palliative measure on how to address the issue, ” he added.
The World Water Day was marked on Friday, March 22, 2024, with the theme, ‘Water For Peace.’
