A Nigerian women’s organisation has criticised a recent government decision to ban water vendors operating in the capital, Abuja.
Minister Aliyu Modibbo Umar banned the vendors because, he said, it was the responsibility of the government, and not that of vendors, to provide water to the city’s residents. He advised the vendors, popularly called mai ruwa, to seek another source of livelihood.
In response, Women Environmental Programme (WEP) said the decision would add to the suffering of the city residents, especially women because access to water is still a big problem in Abuja and throughout Nigeria.
“One of the key Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is the provision of potable water in every home in Nigeria by the year 2015. However, in 2007, midway to the global date set by the United Nations, adequate water supply in the country has remained a mirage,” WEP executive director, Priscilla Achakpa, told CISA.
She said her organisation agreed that the water vendors posed security and health risks to their customers because they could serve as informants to criminals, and their water was not always safe for drinking, the ban was imposed without appropriate cushioning measures.
“One question that looms large is this: Where are the water tankers that had been made available to provide clean and safe water to districts where water supply had been very poor pending the completion of Gurara water transfer project?” Ms Achakpa posed.
“It is worthy of note that when the tankers are spotted, they are often watering flowers and plants on streets and parks.”
Due to the water crisis in the capital, many households had resorted to drilling boreholes and digging shallow wells. “This ban will further encourage the frantic drilling of bore holes and digging of wells all over the [capital], which could have serious environmental consequences,” Ms Achakpa said.
She urged President Umaru Yar’Adua to also declare a state of emergency in the water and sanitation sector, and to convene a national dialogue on the matter. “This move, we believe, would help formulate and guarantee policies and programmes to redress the trend of the lack of clean and portable water in the country.”