Two years after President Muhammadu Buhari declared state of emergency in Nigeria’s water and sanitation sector, WASH situation in Kpaduma II community in Guzape District, is a microcosm of the situation across most communities across Nigeria; JOHN OBA reports.
Statistics say 844 million people which is one in nine globally do not have clean water close in their homes. Also, 2.3 billion people globally, almost one in three people do not have a decent toilet of their own. While around 289,000 children under five die every year from diarrhea caused by poor water and sanitation. That is almost 800 children a day, or one child every two minutes globally.
In Nigeria, 67 per cent of the population does not have basic sanitation; 26 per cent practice open defecation; 33 per cent of the population are without clean water while 87 per cent do not have basic hygiene facilities and Around 60,000 children under the age of five in Nigeria die from diseases caused by the nation’s poor levels of access to water, sanitation and hygiene.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks lowest in the world for access to improved drinking water and sanitation. This is linked to the region’s under-five mortality rate which is one of the highest worldwide.
More alarming is the fact that even in the Nigeria capital city, Abuja, there are places that still show a tale of abject neglect with no decent toilet or clean water, worst still is the fact that many of such communities still practice open defecation.
This is the case of Kpaduma II in the Guzape District, a community half a mile from major embassies in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja. Aspiring to become like Asokoro, its neighbouring high-class and diplomatic community, Guzape community hopes for better sanitation conditions.
Toilet on rock
With its rocky landscape, digging a toilet in Guzape II is almost impossible, with most of the toilets built on rocks with no sewage system. This means emptying the pit manually also endanger the health and lives of sanitation workers and the community. Most houses built their toilets on rock with block that is about four feet high. Some of these soak-away are situated right within the compound where children play around with some already weak and waste waters dripping from the sewage.
Some of the toilets are unkempt and indecent such that user are at the risk of being infected. In a country that recently declared emergency in the WASH sector, no one should live without clean and decent toilets. Sadly, that is not the case for 26-year-old Juliana Agba who lives in Guzape.
Speaking with delegations from WaterAid and WASH media recently, Juliana says sharing a toilet with nine other households is not comfortable and appropriate. “I had a toilet infection when I was pregnant. The toilet is always dirty and has no drainage for water to flow out when washed. It is not well covered and I feel bad using it like that. I would prefer a water closet because it is neat.”
Access to clean water
The community unfortunately, also faces the challenge of accessing water. This means that sometimes, children have to use messed up toilets or defecate in the open.
Kpaduma II, with an estimate population of 50,000 people, is battling water shortage as only eight boreholes serve the whole community.
Presently, out of the eight boreholes, only six are functioning while the remaining two are out of use. Five of the boreholes are privately-funded and the remaining three are provided by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO).
Incidentally, the privately-funded boreholes have taken its tolls on the people as they have to pay more to get water for domestic use. The District Head, Chief Bifnis T, Yakubu, who spoke to the delegation, said the community is trying its best to meet the need of the people but the constant influx of Nigerians from across the country has made it difficult for the community to meet the water need of the people. He said efforts are ongoing to get support from the federal government and Federal Capitla Territory Administration have not yielded any positive result.
In view of this, water vendors and commercial water sellers are making brisk business as they meet the need of the people.
A twenty six years old water vendor, otherwise known as Mairuwa, Abdullahi Shehu, who spoke WASH Media said, he was happy to meet the water need of the people and in the process make his money. According to him, he buys a 25 litres of jerry can for N10, and sells at N50. He, however, added that there are some people who buys the whole water in his cart, 12 jerry cans, which goes for N600. Shehu informed that he sells about 5 carts a day (which is 60 jerry cans) at N3,000.
According to Shehu, he smiles to the bank everyday with more than 300 percent profit. He uses part of the money to repair his cart when it is faulty and sends some money to his young family.
Evelyn Akoshi, 24, a commercial borehole vendor, says she sells about 30 carts of water in a day at N100 per cart which translate into N3,000 everyday.
She said it is difficult to satisfy the water need of the people whether in the raining or dry season. In the dry season, she said demand is always more than supply and even in the raining season, households and water vendors still patronize her because most times the rain water are not very clean for consumption.
Mariam Adamu, a mother of four, and a grinding machine owner, also a consumer of water, appealed to government to urgently come to their aid by providing pipe-borne water to the community.
According to her, she spends much on water because her business requires much of water for washing the machine and to mix the condiments brought for grinding. Mariam buys 15 galloon of water daily. She uses between 8 and 10 and keeps others when there is lack of electricity to pump water. She stated that she buys a jerry can of water at N15 each and realises N500 per day.
The Kpaduma II community with such numbers of people evidently needs regular supply of water and also repairs for the spoilt boreholes in order to aid community development considering its proximity to the FCT and for the benefits of humanity. The key ministries to make this possible are FCTA, Health, Water Resources and Environment to prevent outbreak of water-borne diseases and for Kpaduma II to live a healthy live and have a sense of belonging in the nation’s capital.
