Special report
Water!
e no get enemy, Water no get enemy, Water!e no get enemy!
It
was the legendary Afro-beat singer, Fela Anikulapo kuti, of blessed memory, whose
evergreen words above on the importance of water in the life of every
individual that brought home that no one can survive without water.
Water
is no doubt the most important thing after the air we breathe. Every living
organism require certain amount of water to be alive. In fact, it is said that
water sustains life. Apart from drinking it to make the body function as
required, Water is now a source of livelihood to many families who depend on income
from its sale and direct use to make ends meet.
Water
is used to wash, to cook, grow some species, to build; and in in the field of
creative arts and industries, water helps to bring certain ideas to life. Very importantly
water is used spiritually to purify one for worship purposes whether in Islam
or Christendom, hence the saying that cleanliness is next to Godliness. It can
be summed up that “He who brings water brings Life”. That water is essential for the very existence
of life underscores the commitment of Governor Idris Wada to the provision of
potable water across the nooks and crannies of Kogi Sate.
When
Governor Wada directed that the provision of water tothirty(30) communities
across the three senatorial districts of Kogi statepriority in the utilization
of the Bond proceed, it was very certain that he intends to give life to those
communities. This was one intervention that has earned the present
administration a special place in the history of Kogi State. Apart from the
undisputed impact of the water projects across communities in the state, the
sheer number of the projects approved in one swoop and the criteria for the selection
of communities benefiting from the water projects are positive indications of
the policy direction of the Wada-led administration.
From
data obtained from the Ministry of Water Resources, the Central Senatorial
District has a total of thirteen (13) water schemes. The Eastern Senatorial District
has ten (10)while the West Senatorial District has seven of such water
projects.More than twenty of the projects have attained over 50% completion
rate.
In
order to ensure equitable spread of the water schemes, not only did the
Governor put senatorial districts into considerations, he saw to it that the
various key constituent communities in those senatorial districts benefited.
For instance, in the central senatorial district, the Ogori community was
recognized as different from the Magongo community whose water schemes are at
75% and 70% completion level respectively. Other communities in the central
senatorial district likeEssomi, Oboroke,Ikuehi, Nagazi, Kuroko, Geregu, Egge,
Idoji ,Adavi, Obehira, Obangede also enjoy the in-depth coverage of Governor
Wada’s life-giving water scheme.
The eastern senatorial district benefited
through the water schemes located in Agaliga, Imane, Anyigba, Oguma, Ajaka, Omi,
Ejule, Odu-okpakili, Idah and Ankpa. In the western senatorial district we have
the Egbe, Isanlu, Ogidi ,Gbedde, Kabba, Mopa and the reticulation and metering
of Greater Lokoja water schemes to represent the indigenous composition and
interest groups in the zone.
Without doubt, thesewater schemes reflect
Governor Wada’s resolve toensure that no community, no matter how remote,
across the 21 Local Government Area of Kogi State is left behind in the
delivery of dividends of democracy.
It is indeed gratifying to note that the
present administration has thoughtfully recognized the prime importance of
clean and portable water to the socio-economic lives of the people and has
taken decisive measures to end the problems of perennial scarcity of portable
drinking water facing many towns and rural communities in the state.
It
is instructive to emphasize here that these water schemes are at advanced
stages of completion due to the commitment of the Ministry of Water Resources
and various stakeholders in the benefiting communities whose continued support
for His Excellency Capt. Idris Wada is a clear indication of the wide
acceptanceof the present administration among the people of Kogi State.
Apart
from sustained efforts of the administration to ensure that towns and rural
communities in need of water are provided with clean potable water, large sums
of money have been expended on the maintenance and rehabilitation of major
water works within Lokoja metropolis.
The economics behind the reticulation and
metering project on the Greater Lokoja water schemeby the administration of
Capt. Wada is commendable. Irked by the dwindling and consistent fall in the revenue
allocation from the Federation Account, Governor Wada decided to improve the
reticulation of the Greater Lokoja water scheme to cover more settlements
within Lokoja as well as the satellites settlements around Lokoja.When completed,
the project will meet the water needs of Lokoja and its environs as well as
improve Internally Generated Revenue to the government.
In
order to protect and sustain the Greater Lokoja Water Project, a people-oriented
investment that has gulped millions of naira, the administration of Governor Idris
Wada has created an embankment to protect it from future flood from River Niger
which supplies water for the project. The Governor has also offered employment
to over sixty (60) Engineers to under study the present management with a view
to take over from the foreign Expatriates for the sustainability of the
Project.
This is how Governor Wada is quietly but
steadily impacting the lives of the Kogi people in his usual and unassuming disposition
that lets the works do the talk all the way even as Fela’s Water no get enemy is now more apt from the Governor’s acceptance
across Kogi State as the one who brought water to make life better for the
people.
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