By Stephen Ojo
The Emir of Borgu, Dr Sani Haliru-Dantoro, has narated the sordid experience of how the people of New Bussa and other parts of his kingdom survived for half a decade (50years) without portable drinking water after they were displaced from their ancestral homes by the construction of Kainji Hydroelectric power Dam. Speaking at the commissioning of the Borgu Water Works project over the weekend, the royal father expressed happiness that the project has finally come to fruition 30 years after it was initiated.
He said, “That the residents of New Bussa and environs endured the lack of potable water for the past half a century is an indication of the patriotic zeal and maturity of Borgu people. This lack of potable water for such a long time evokes even more emotional feelings, considering the presence of Nigeria’s largest lake in Borgu”.
The monarch revealed that the people of Old Bussa were promised the most basic of human necessities by the Nigerian government through the Kainji Dam Authority including provision of potable water, adding that the promise remained unfulfilled to the intervention of the National Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (N-HYPPADEC)
“Again, this ironic anomaly also manifests till this day in the
non-connection of major Borgu towns to electric power supply despite the siting of the Kainji Power Station in Borgu territory”, he said
In a message of appreciation issued on Sunday in Minna, the the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Borgu Youth Development Association (BYDA) Yakubu Aliyu described the water supply project as a lifeline for the residents of New Bussa who have been suffering the scarcity of water in the kingdom over the years.
According to Aliyu, “for three decades, the New Bussa Water Scheme, remained dormant, its infrastructure crumbled as the promise of supply of clean water faded into a distant memories” he said
He added, “the lack of access to safe water had a devastating impact on the health, hygiene, and the wellbeing of the residents. We have been buying water in wheelbarrows and
water tanks from water vendors.
Mothers and women have to treck very long distances in search of clean save water for their children. We also survived several water-borne diseases in our communities while our children spent hours scooping water from contamination sources during dry seasons”.