By ISRAEL NANJUL LAR
THE significance of water in human existence or its role in the sustenance of life generally cannot be over-emphasised. Indeed, virtually everything that has life cannot do without water. That is why it is often said that water is life.
Adequate supply of water is central to life and civilization. As a matter of fact, water is one of the five basic human needs. The other four are food, healthcare, education and peace. However, a common factor or denominator to the five is water. Therefore, other socio-economic activities depend on the availability of water.
According to a report by the United Nations (UN) presented on the 2024 World Water Day, it was noted that more than 3 billion people worldwide depend on water that crosses national borders. Unfortunately, the findings revealed that only 24 countries have water corporation agreements for all their shared water systems.
Needless to say that water can create peace or spark conflict. When water is scarce or polluted or when people seem to have unequal or no access to clean water, this may result to tensions and can even cause conflicts between communities or countries. No wonder, because of the global impact of water, the UN has set aside March 22 each year for humanity to celebrate as World Water Day (WWD).
In Nigeria, due to the importance of water resources to the citizens, the Federal Government, through its strategic approach to good governance, came up with the National Water Policy (NWP) aimed at recognising the need to balance water uses, water allocation and water protection carefully through a regulatory system of river basins.
Furthermore, a proactive-based management principle and a participatory approach mechanism have been put in place. More so, the strategic approach represents a radical paradigm shift in the way that the water sector will be managed in the country.
In the same vein, the Nigeria Water Policy Framework is a deliberate attempt towards rejecting the top-bottom approach. In addition, the water policy seeks and is looking towards implementing an integrated approach and effective water management of resources.
Similarly, the National Water Policy sees water as an economic good. This is because water is supplied at a cost, and the service may not be sustained if the real cost of supplying it is not covered.
The Managing Director of the Jos Water Services Corporation, Engineer Apollos Simon Samchi, told THE NIGERIA STANDARD that he concurred with the above assertion, noting that tapping water resources had become a business-driven venture.
He stated that in Plateau State, there was an on-going Metering Strategic Plan to cater for households and business premises, affirming that by so doing the Corporation would be able to keep track of the quantity of water going out and the quantity of water used by customers.
Engineer Samchi expressed the strong view that water was a legitimate need of people to be met by any responsive government for the benefit of its citizens. On the other hand, he noted that the major challenge of delivering quality water to the citizens was finance.
According to the Managing Director, on assumption of office he was faced with a lot of problems including payment of salaries to 1,040 ad-hoc staff as well as 2023 end of year bonuses. In addition, the outstanding promotion of staff who were due was a herculean task and hurdle to cross.
Another challenge confronting the Corporation is replacing burst or rusted asbestos pipes with plastic ones in line with international best practices prescribed by the United Nations which has warned that asbestos pipes are cancerous to human beings.
On water reticulation, Engineer Samchi explained that the Corporation was embarking on repairs and replacement of other obsolete machines and equipment to pave way for provision of quality and affordable water to the good people of Plateau State like never before.
In view of the above, he asserted that the state government would, in collaboration with World Bank, ensure the successful implementation of the UN Charter on Water Resource Management. He called on the citizens of Plateau State to rally round the new breed governor, who was determined to make the difference in the state by paying their water rates promptly.
Needless to say that Nigeria is considered to be abundantly blessed with resources. However, there are temporal and spatial variations in water availability across the country as well as its regions. In addition to being blessed with abundant water resources, the desire to improve access to these resources is becoming more and more elusive because of the rapidly increasing demand for water against the backdrop of high population growth coupled with increasing urbanisation and rising living conditions due to economic growth. These have resulted to shortages of water in urban and rural areas, competing water usages, lower level of irrigation potentials and degrading water sheds, to mention but a few.
As climate change impact increases and population grows, there is an urgent need within and between countries to unite to protect and conserve our most precious resources. This is more so that public health and strategic food and energy systems, economic productivity and environmental integrity all rely on a well-managed water cycle.
Therefore, if the Plateau State Government, through the relevant MDAs, provides not just water but clean water to our state, LGAs and other rural communities, this will go a long way in having a positive ripple effect on the quality of the lives of the people of the state. It will also foster harmony by generating prosperity and building resilience to shared challenges that are associated with water shortages in our state and the nation at large.
