Farmers lament Change dries up
Grief hese are not the best of times for Haliru Yakubu and his family. He was born in Goronyo, and he took part in the construction of the dam,he informs us, with a hint of a stammer. The dam which brought so much joy in its wake,which also came into being in his presence, has become a source of grief to many, who point towards the empty concrete channel which ought to convey water to Sokoto, some 70 kilometers away.As we watch the villagers try to fill a number of containers with water which issues from a part of the dam. Yakubu turns and looks towards the two distant trees in the background, as though forming a friendly mental bond with them. As he gazes he murmurs that when the dam had water,many visitors from neighbouring communities, came to buy fish.
TNow, the flock of visitors from Zamfara, Kebbi and Niger republic has dropped to less than a trickle, and the fish in the dam have reduced in population, meaning that very little either in the form of money or fish or both, gets to Yakubu. Many of his brothers have had to migrate seeking food and a means of sustenance, leaving their wives and children behind. He explains “Now, there is no fish at the dam. Nobody comes to make purchases, and we are becoming poorer.” We meet a Buzu herder from Niger republic on our way to Goronyo, and he is trekking alongside more than a hundred camels.With the drying up of the dam, he has been making fewer trips to Nigeria.
Disappearing fish
Dr. Aminu Raji, former Executive Director, National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research, New Bussa, Niger State, shares an opinion on what happens if the water level of a dam drops “A lot of fish will disappear because fish don’t reproduce in shallow water. Dams are primarily for agricultural use, and the river basins were set up for agriculture, crop production, livestock, fish production. If there is no water, then all these will be affected. The quantity of fish will dramatically reduce. Over time places with much fish, won’t have that number again. At one time, for instance, Lake Chad had sixty to seventy percent species of fish. Today, we may not find twenty species of fish there. Those that cannot adapt to new conditions will disappear. This is called extinction in biology. The same thing will apply to livestock and agriculture. With less water, fewer animals will be kept, and there will be less water for irrigation.” He also proposes a solution to the situation at Goronyo “You can transfer water from one river to another, to increase the quantity.This is known as inter basin transfer, from one basin to another. You can do that on a smaller scale for Goronyo. You can channel the river, deepen the river feeding Goronyo, so that more water will come from the lake, and you can dredge them to remove the silt.”
Fish market dying
A popular fish market in Goronyo, illustrates the impact of the declining waters on the area. Shuaibu Keta, whom we meet there, argues “the reduction of water has adversely affected people growing onions, tomatoes and rice. They are usually quite well off, but now they have nothing to do. Before, if you come here to buy fish, you have to look for a place to park your car, because of the large number of customers, but now there is nothing for sale. Previously, we will realise up to one million Naira in fish sales per day, but now even a sale worth fifty thousand Naira is hard to come by.” Salihu Maiwake, a rice farmer is still able to smile despite the major reversal which Goronyo has grown to symbolise “The situation is sorrowful. Last year by this time (April) I harvested two hundred bags of rice, but now I could not harvest even one bag, not to talk of the small farmers. Some of them have migrated to more fertile places, because there is nothing happening here.” He adds “Since the dam was established, I have never seen anything like this.”
Dr. Raji argues “If it is a sudden drop,if it is not over a long period of time, probably one could think that the rate of usage is faster than the rate of replacement. If they are using the water faster than the rate of replacement, this could result in the sudden drop in the water level. If the amount of water that enters the reservoir is much smaller than what they have been using, this may be the immediate reason.” Continuing,he says “Siltation is the number one explanation for the situation. These are the muddy particles going into the lake from the rivers supplying the waters, which reduce the depth of the reservoir.”Professor Ismail, head of the department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, ABU, draws attention to the role of seepage in the decline of Goronyo dam “The Goronyo dam has a history of seepage. Without proper management of the dam, definitely, the amount of seepage will increase. Evaporation will also cause water to reduce. If you have a large span of water over a large area, in the northern part of the country, you will know that the evaporation rate will