“Our mothers, fathers, sisters, everybody…it is here they come to fetch water…And the president lives close to us.”
On March 20, 2021, the management of the FCT water board, in a public notice circulated on social media, informed the general public about the disruption in water supply due to urgent maintenance work being carried out at the lower Usuma dam treatment plant, urging the public to be patient.
The repairs resulted in a shortage of water across the nation’s capital.
On March 30, 2021, it announced on social media that water had been restored in all affected areas but a cross-section of residents say otherwise.
According to them, it has been over 2weeks and the story remains the same. Access to clean water remains a daily challenge and they have resorted to other means for survival.
“They say they are cleaning the water board tank or something! For how many weeks? Even if it is a full tank of the country one week is okay. Now it’s almost 2 weeks perhaps when one of dies they will know we need water.”
Durumi 2, one of the satellite areas in the FCT, is one out of the many areas suffering water scarcity. Here, water sourced from the ground has become an alternative filling an all-purpose gap including washing, cooking, and laundering.
“There is no water, it is unsteady and mostly at night you will hear the water make a sound after that in the morning…no water! Everybody will come to various bushes to fetch water from any small stream clean or unclean even if a private part is washed there. People go fetch water and they use it for drinking, for bathing, and everything.”
As though the challenge of water scarcity in Durumi is not sufficient, the road leading to the alternative source is another cause for concern
“It’s not been easy because the road is not good. The road to the stream is not good. People fall into this mud and their shoes too. The holes you see are people’s shoes inside even that of my sister’s. So when people are going to fetch water, they have to take this place including kids, adults. If the village chief can come fetch water here who are we not to come and fetch. It means we don’t have a say…we have not heard anything from him…he does not have anything to say it is just the government.”
Clean or unclean…Durumi residents appear unperturbed about the dangers of possible water-borne diseases.
“Our mothers, fathers, sisters, everybody…it is here they come to fetch water…And the president lives close to us.
For like 2weeks now, we have been fetching drinking water under here (ditch)…nothing like tap outside.
Everyday nothing like water we only use this stream water to wash, bath and still drink it because since 2 weeks…there is no water.”
Residents of the area who spoke to Roots Tv expressed uncertainty of when water would be restored.
“We don’t know the government. Coronavirus met us…water problem met us…electricity problem too.
We will always manage because my name follows me…I can economize things, my name is economy…that is my name.”
According to them even the village chief is not hopeful and confused on what to do as other sources of clean water (water distributors) are outrageously expensive.
“Even the head chief, the chief of the town, this is where he comes to get water for himself and his family.
Since the water scarcity started, we have been walking about to different neighboring estates to get water…we are suffering…we don’t know what to do even to wash clothes and plates is a problem, everywhere is dirty…we don’t have water.”
They are left with no choice but to continue to manage what is available pending when the FCT water management board restores water.
“No water anywhere! The water they bring is not steady! Water now drops like urine. I have a pump in my house but I can’t fetch water. What type of country is this? They should divide and share the country let everyone be on his own.”
