The fact that Lagos is surrounded by the ocean which earned the city the acronym ‘Eko ar’omisa legbegbe’ cannot be denied and has been a source of joy to Lagosians owing to its tourist’s attraction that has, in the long run, put Lagos and Nigeria on the world map but the residents of the city have been faced with the acute portable water shortage in the last few months and have been usual occurrence. One cannot but ask why the famous megacity and the West African economic hub is often faced with such challenge unabated.
It has been tales of woe and lamentation from hapless residents who are going through the pangs of water scarcity especially during the novel coronavirus pandemic that’s been ravaging the world over where water is one of the major precautionary items needed in curbing the spread. It’s economical and safer to have one’s hands washed under a running tap for 20 seconds according to COVID-19 instructions.
In view of the fact that Lagos, the former capital city of Nigeria, is an island surrounded by a huge mass of water extending to the Atlantic Ocean, water shortages have been a reoccurring phenomenon due to the growing population of the city, which is currently over 17.5 million although the figure has been disputed by the federal government and found to be unreliable by National Population Commission of Nigeria which put the population at 21 million in 2016 coupled with profit-oriented politics.
From available statistics, Lagos presently produces about 210 million gallons of water per day from its various water plants, which is a far cry from what the people need, amounting to an estimated figure of 540 million gallons daily. The state-owned water company, which is the primary source of water supply, has left the taps dry for days running into weeks and now into months leaving Lagos with a huge shortage of about 320 million gallons. Residents have resorted to meeting their water needs by drinking water from boreholes, shallow wells and water vendors (Mai Ruwa) due to lack of treated public water supply in the city.
Although, the Lagos State Water Corporation (LSWC) has made a passionate appealed to residents of the state sometimes ago over the water scarcity being experienced in some parts of the city, adding that the acute shortage was caused by a major technical fault at its Akute Intake. LSWC Managing Director Mr Muminu Badmus is quoted in the statement, saying:
“The disruption in the water supply to some parts of the metropolis in the last few days is due to a technical fault at our Akute Intake, which affected our major waterworks at Iju Intake and Adiyan. Our engineers are presently working round the clock to repair the faults. We appeal to our esteem customers to bear with the corporation as the problem is for a while.”
While water shortages also existed in the past, the ongoing water crisis seems more chronic and crippling because it is happening at a time when there is coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria and several communities in the city are badly affected. The situation is far from better since the outbreak of the virus in early March or thereabout.
Most of the residents have to buy petrol to pump water from their own private boreholes, but what we don’t seem to realize is that while some can afford to buy petrol to the power-pumping machine to get water from their borehole, quite a number of people cannot afford that because of the topography of the area with both problems invariably dovetailing into a crisis.
Consequently, many of the residents who do not have any other means of getting water now hunt for it all over the city and queue to fetch water especially where one or two rich men decided to provide a place outside their houses for fetching free water. The water vendors (Mai Ruwa) on the other hands have become thorns in the flesh of the residents as they take the undue advantage of the scarcity to sell water at an increased price to reflect the current harsh realities.
Mrs Keji Quadri and Mrs Tessy Monday, a fruit seller and a teacher in Somolu/Bariga communities within the city who at the different time said the issue of the water crisis is becoming unbearable each passing day as what they spend on the water on a daily basis is better not disclosed.
“Imagine a 25-litre keg of water which was initially sold for N30 before the present shortage of water has now doubled in price and we use 10 kegs in two days N600. I now spend about N2, 000 daily on the water that is even if I can find any water vendor to sell to me”. Said, Mrs Keji Quadri
In the same vein, Mrs Tessy who stays at the last floor of the three-story building said her own is even more than what she expected as the water vendor charge extra for bringing the water to the last floor.
The situation has degenerated to the extent that those selling water from their private wells at a hiked price due to scarcity have locked up the well to preserve what they have since they don’t know how long it will take the state government to fix it which could cause a likelihood of an outbreak of an epidemic in Lagos as a result of the water scarcity.
The most disheartening aspect of it all is the ban placed on borehole drilling by the government when the Lagos State Water Corporation (LSWC) is not in good form. Imagine there’s no borehole in Lagos as it is now and the state keeps having this kind of issue, there’s no doubt that the state would be in the serious epidemic outbreak when they cannot manage the little challenge like this how much more having epidemic and coronavirus at the same time. No one prays for such to happen but we must always have a back-up plan to save the state from untold hardship like the residents are experiencing at the moment.
For about a month now, the Lagos residents have been scavenging for water from other means and yet the Lagos State Water Corporation (LSWC) will still distribute bill for the service it did not render like their electricity-generating counterpart, Ikeja Electricity Distributing Company (IKEDC) which is becoming worrisome and uncalled for. Why must the state Agency take advantage of the vulnerable at this critical moment when many of them are going through the harrowing experience of financial constraint owing to coronavirus pandemic?
What then is the essence of paying for what one did not enjoy when one needs it most? It’s nothing but scam if the Lagos State Water Corporation (LSWC) decided to slap the residents with such bill when the management knows the organization did not supply water for more than a month.
The earlier the state government stops playing politics with the issue of water and find a lasting solution to the challenges of shortage of waters in the city once and for all, the better for both the residents and the government as the Yorubas will say in local parlance that “Irorun eku n’irorun eye”. When the people are comfortable and secure then the government can have time to plan for another thing and not water any more.