Nigeria on brink of tremor due to borehole proliferation, group warns

THE African Women Water Sanitation and Hygiene Network (AWWASHNET) has raised the alarm that Nigeria is at the brink of tremor due to the proliferation of boreholes in the country.

Chairperson of AWWASHNET, Vickie Onyekuru, stated this when the women’s group took its sensitisation campaign on healthy lifestyle through the use of clean water to Ishaga community in Meiran, Alomosho Local government area of Lagos State.

She explained that “manholes created by the boreholes easily prompts earthquakes.” On the economic side, private boreholes proved to be more expensive, as each family spends about N2,000 monthly to buy water, whereas government charges N1,000 monthly as water rate.

The women group educated the residents, who were mostly women, on the need to reject the plan to hand over Lagos water to private businessmen whose main aim is to maximise profit.

Coordinating officer of AWWASHNET, Veronica Ivoke, told the residents, most of whom had no inkling that Lagos was planning to privatise water resources in the state, that the masses would bear the brunt of water privatisation.

Chairman of Ishaga Landlords’ Association, Chief Opeoluwa Adeleye, disclosed that the community depends on private boreholes and underground wells for water, as almost every building has a borehole.

Onyekuru added that the best source of water is public water, since even the portability of the borehole water could not be guaranteed.