About half of Nigeria’s population lack access to potable water, a recent survey by NOI Polls has shown. OKECHUKWU NNODIM writes on other findings contained in the survey report
NOI Polls, a leading opinion polling and research organisation that works in partnership with The Gallup Organisation, United States, has said that a large percentage of Nigerians source water privately, as against what the government promised when inaugurating its water roadmap in 2011.
The firm, in a document made available to our correspondent, said, “Latest weekly poll results have revealed that access to clean water remains a major challenge to almost half of the populace (47 per cent).
“In addition, 83 per cent of Nigerians source their drinking water privately, while only about one in 10 respondents (nine per cent) are connected to the public sewerage system. These were the three key findings from the Access to Clean Water Snap poll done in the week of February 18, 2013.”
In January 2011, the Federal Government inaugurated the water roadmap. According to the government, the roadmap will serve a blueprint containing the objectives for developing the nation’s water resources between 2011 and 2015.
The plan includes the promise that 75 per cent of Nigerians will have access to clean water by 2015.
Only recently, the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe, said for Nigeria to meet the Millennium Development Goal with respect to adequate water supply by 2015, the country would need to expend N360bn annually on development projects in the sector.
According to her, the sum will be needed annually for the next three to five years to meet the nation’s water supply and sanitation needs.
She said, “From the analysis carried out, we need about N360bn annually for the next three to five years to meet the target of 75 per cent water supply and 65 per cent sanitation.
“The N360bn is for the development of the water sector generally, because we require funding for almost every aspect. We need funding to carry out interventions in rural communities, hydrological services, integrated water services, working on dams, as well as for our irrigational facilities.”
NOI Polls, however, said increasing access to safe drinking water was vital to achieving the much desired MDG. It said that lack of access to water led to a high prevalence of waterborne diseases, adding that all over the world, approximately three million children less than five years old die yearly from diarrhoea and other illnesses mostly acquired from contaminated water.
“With the just concluded Presidential Summit on Water, which held between the February 18 and 19, 2013, NOI Polls sought the opinion of Nigerians regarding access to water and sanitary facilities,” it said.
According to NOI Polls, it asked different people five specific questions, with the first seeking to establish the source of drinking water in households. It said respondents were asked how they currently get drinking water at home.
“Results indicate that the majority (27 per cent) by a slight margin currently drink sachet water commonly referred to as ‘pure water.’ Another 25 per cent get drinking water at home from private boreholes, and 19 per cent drink bottled, packaged water. Other sources are the water boards/governments (11 per cent), public bore holes (six per cent) and private wells (five per cent),” it said.
The results show that the majority of people in Nigeria (83 per cent overall) source their drinking water privately as opposed to depending on the government. According to the firm, the safety of these sources of water is questionable, particularly the ‘pure water,’ of which its treatment and subsequent sale is still a major point of contention between the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control and the manufacturers.
According to NOI Polls, this result contradicts the claims of the Ministry of Water Resources, which states that 58 per cent of the country’s population has access to safe drinking water as provided by the government.
It said respondents were subsequently asked if access to clean water was a challenge to them and their household. “A slight majority (53 per cent) responded negatively, showing that access to clean water is not a challenge,” it said.
The remaining 47 per cent of respondents surveyed, the firm said, explained that access to clean water was, indeed, a challenge to them and their households.
The firm observed that when responses were further analysed across geo-political zones, access to clean water was a greater challenge in the North East and North West than in other geo-political zones in the country.
This, it said, was in line with an assertion made by the United States Agency for International Development that the water problem was particularly acute in rural northern Nigeria; where only about 30 per cent of the population had access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.
The research firm said respondents, who stated that access to clean water was a challenge to them and their households (47 per cent of the total), were further asked to tell the extent to which accessing clean water was a challenge to their household.
“Results indicate that the slight majority overall (33 per cent) say access to clean water is a challenge to a very large extent. This is closely followed by respondents who state that it is a challenge to a large extent and to a little extent (31 per cent each). A meagre six per cent said it is a challenge to a very little extent,” it added.
The firm observed that after analysing the geo-political zones, it figured out that the challenge was most pronounced in the northwest since it had the highest proportion of respondents (41 per cent), who stated that it was a challenge to a very large extent.
Also, the northeast had the highest proportion of respondents who stated that access to clean water was a challenge to a very little extent, the report stated.