In Lagos, there are lagoons, fresh and brackish water bodies everywhere that you would expect potable water to be plentiful for Lagosians. Nope! Instead, there is a water crisis in Lagos and this has reduced the acclaimed “Center for Excellence” to a “mega ‘pure water’ city”.
Here are some troubling statistics: according to the United Nations (U.N.), only 10% of the 21 million residents of Lagos, have access to water supplied by the Lagos State Water Cooperation (LWC). To highlight the scale of the water crisis at the national level, WaterAid reported that about 73,000 Nigerians died from lack of access to running water in 2014 compared to 4,000 lives claimed by the terror campaign of Boko Haram.
Water is a resource so precious that the United Nations General Assembly recognized “the right to safe and clean drinking water as a human right.” As we mark the 2018 World Water Day, this March 22nd, therefore, the question is not whether a human right to water exists, but why are Nigerian states and federal governments not fulfilling it?
Without a doubt, Lagos State is one of the states in Nigeria with the financial capacity and abundant water resources to guarantee equitable potable water services to its citizens. But the mega-city of Lagos have limited access to piped water with citizens still struggling to find water suitable for drinking and sanitation. Can Governor Ambode Akinwunmi end the water crisis in Lagos?
About a year ago, the Lagos State government signed into law the Environmental Management and Protection bill. This law has some obnoxious sections that criminalize water extraction from natural sources without permission (fees). It is ridiculous to enact such a law in a city that is currently providing potable public water services to less than 10% of the population.
Water distribution system is almost non-existent in Lagos slums. The shantytowns across Lagos, where a greater percentage of the population resides have built their own drinking-water systems. Some are relying on private providers or drawing supplies from private boreholes. This has created a completely disorganized system that fails to meet demand.
It is, thus, reasonable why the state is attempting to regulate water use. But criminalizing the use of alternative water resources is inappropriate until there is a guarantee of public water services to all. Rather than impose fees on Lagosians (which will further compound the water crisis), the state government should first provide clean water by revitalizing their various water schemes.
As captured on the website of Lagos State Water Cooperation (LWC), the willingness to pay for public water services is very high in Lagos. The existence of this water economy shows that there is high demand for services which has not been successfully provided by the formal sector as evidenced by the preponderance of private boreholes and sachet water.
Although some of these services are provided efficiently by the vibrant local private sector, the cost of services is exorbitant. Already, citizens are paying about “500% of LCW rate”. This is because the private providers cannot take advantage of the large economies of scale involved in transmitting water through a pipe.
The people of Lagos State deserve sufficient, safe and affordable water for personal and domestic use. The high willingness to pay by the public presents an excellent opportunity for the government in partnership with private operators to develop the water infrastructure for the megacity. A peep at the website of LWC shows that there is already a significant action plan on how to kick-start this water infrastructural development. The challenge, like the rest of Nigerian problem, is non-implementation and lack of political will.
If the 2010 baseline data made available by LWC are taken as a working document, then a gap of 330 million gallons per day in demand for water is huge for Lagos. With the ubiquitous availability of fresh water (Ogun, Oshun, Owo, Aye, and Yewa Rivers) and Brackish Water (Lagos and Lekki Lagoons and Badagry Creek) sources, Lagos State is in an excellent situation to tap from these untapped resources.
Supply of potable water to all citizens of Lagos should form an integral part of the quest to make Lagos the Center for Excellence. This should be followed with a careful review of existing private wells with the view to regulate. It is then that monetization of environmental impacts of any private borehole and sachet water can be seen as a good approach to adding environmental costs. This will reduce the dangerous threat to the environment posed by plastic ‘pure water’ bags.
Until a committed and positive action is taken by relevant government agencies towards comprehensively addressing the water crisis in the state; the disorganized system of water service delivery in Lagos will remain a viable unregulated business.
The recent Land Use Charge announced by the Lagos State government as well as the Environmental Management and Protection bill will not solve the water and sanitation crisis in the city. These draconian laws will also not safeguard access to water functions and management of water resources in an integrated and equitable manner in Lagos state.
The Lagos State government should see the challenge of providing clean and affordable water to all citizens as a human rights issue. Lagos citizens deserve sufficient, safe and affordable potable water. Will Governor Ambode show the political will and put the financial muscle of the Lagos State government in providing clean and affordable water?
It’s World Water Day, but does Governor Ambode have the political will to end the water crisis in Lagos? Until he does, the hyping of Lagos as the “Center of Excellence”, will remain a dream.
You can email Churchill at Churchill.okonkwo@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @churchillnnobi
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