Life, they say, is full of twists and turns. Some people relocated to Abuja primarily to earn a living in a big way, while others had the mission to seek menial jobs where the pay is low and the hours long.
Many in this category are majorly the meruwas who hawk water.
In the FCT, residents in almost all the satellite towns, and some places within the city centre are at the mercy of meruwas because of the lack of pipe-borne water. Many go through hell to get water.
Many Northern youths and a few elderly men have since decided to bridge the gap to help residents in various communities and many other parts of the country’s capital access clean water.
These youth earn a living and they are called meruwa. They sell water from door-to-door every day.
Somewhere in Kuje Street; with shops on both sides directly facing one another, sits a shop dealing in bread and egg. The shop, obviously owned by one of the Northerners, is where most of the meruwas come to unwind after the day’s work. Adamu, one of the Northern men providing residents with clean water, is not an exception.
Adamu, from Kaduna State, told Abuja Review that he ventured into the sale of water three years ago to make a living for his two wives and 10 children.
“I don’t have money,” Adamu said, after delivery in the blistering sun, looking wet from his own sweat.
“So, I sell water to make money. Out of the little money I make, I send it to my wives in Kaduna State” he said, chewing on a loaf of bread and complementing it with a soft drink.
“I sell to anyone who needs my water. Each of the containers goes for ?50 to ?80,” he further said.
Although Adamu said he makes from ?600 to ?1,000 daily, he lamented that delivering water to clients is stressful, as the market is dwindling.
“There is no money in the business because some residents have water in their houses. The business is tough. In four months, you can’t get up to ?20, 000, and when you want to go back home, there’s no money. If I find something else to do, I’ll quit this business,” he said.
But Adamu is not the only one who knows how to exploit humanity’s needs to improve his fortunes.
Nuru too, employed as a security worker for a resident in Kuje, picked up his garuwas two years ago, when he came to Abuja in search of greener pastures; leaving behind his two wives, seven children, and his farm in Jigawa State.
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The garuwas are metallic cylindrically shaped buckets used to fetch water. A rope is tied to the handles and further tied to both ends of a stick and carried on their shoulders to areas of need.
“I started selling water two years ago. I sell to those who are having a tough time getting access to clean water. Two of my garuwas go from ?50 to ?100. I make up to ?600 a day.
“But it’s not lucrative anymore because not everyone buys water. Some have boreholes in their homes,” he said.
Another youth, Ibrahim, who hails from Jigawa State, sleeps in his work clothes –a sky blue T-shirt and a pair of grey-black short jean trousers.
He picks up his container, hangs it on his shoulders, and sets out in search of water for his customers; some of whom may have placed orders.
Sometimes alone, or joined by his friends, Ibrahim goes to houses with boreholes where he buys water and resells it to his clients.
“I buy two garuwa for N20 and sell at N100,” he said, with a suspicious look on his face.
This routine is the basic operation of the two groups of meruwa. The difference, however, is that those who push carts earn more.
But, while others complained of the stress involved and the body aches they experience in the process of distributing water hung on their shoulders, Ibrahim seems to be doing fine.
“Since I started, business has been good. There hasn’t been any problem so far, and I get up to ?1,000 a day,” he said.
Asked if he experiences body pains as a result of carrying the garuwa to different areas, he said: “Carrying it on my shoulders is not a problem. I am strong,” he replied with an air of confidence.
Although these meruwas try to fill a huge gap created by the inability of the government at all levels; to provide pipe-borne water for the citizens, the source of the water they distribute sometimes creates health hazards for the consumers.
Two other people who find life difficult and trying to make ends meet are Adamu Alidu and Amisu Isaa. They also live in Kuje, one of the satellite towns in the FCT.
They also hawk water to survive. And, most times, they sleep in an uncompleted building because they could not afford to pay for housing accommodation which is on the high side. Adamu Alidu is not married while Amisu Issa is married and has three children.
They supply water to many homes in the morning and evening. Adamu, who is 35, relocated to Abuja five years ago from Niger State and has since been visiting his parents whenever he has enough money to give them and other members of his family. He told Abuja Review that he started hawking water when there was no other job to do.
He said: “I relocated to Abuja over five years ago. I am from Niger State and my parents are from Niger. I am 35 years old. My aim of coming to Abuja then was to start a business. But when I got here, there was no money to start the business. So, I went into pushing water for sale.
“I sell water in the morning and evening and, aside from that, I also do little work. Many people do call me to supply water to their homes regardless of the time but not at midnight. We are about 40 people here selling water and many of us who are married feed our families from the proceeds of this job.
“This is where we all converge and anyone that needs our services always calls us. This is the biggest place in Kuje where we converge.
“We make N1, 000 in a day. At times, we make like N2, 000. During the dry season, business looks brighter compared to what obtains during the rainy season.
“I always visit my parents and stay with them for about five days before coming back to Abuja. If I have money for marriage now, I will marry in Niger and leave my wife there. But I will still be shuttling between Niger and Abuja. My friend here is married and has children.
For Amisu Issa, life is more difficult because his wife and three children are in Katsina. They expect money from him monthly. He was optimistic that if he could raise enough capital, his life and that of his family would change for the better.
His words: “I am 34 years old. I am married and I have three children. I relocated to Abuja in 2003. Then I was into the dry-cleaning business. But when things were not moving as expected, the owner of the business was not paying me again.
“So, I started selling water to survive. My wife and my three children are in Katsina. I visit my family often and when I do, I stay with them for like a month before coming back to Abuja. And if I do not visit as planned, I do send money to them.
“There are a lot of businesses that one can get involved in but when there is no money, one has to make do with what one has. I still wish to get more money to do a more lucrative business to better my life and that of my family.”
The worst part of the story is that many of them sleep in an uncompleted building exposed to the dangers of the night. However, they hope that life will favour them someday.
Aliyu Musa is the security man that guards the area where those men sleep and earn their daily bread. He praised them for their courage and resilience in what they are doing.
He advised other people who are not engaged in any way to emulate them and start from little rather than involving themselves in criminal activities.
Musa said: “I am the security guard here. These people selling water are very helpful to the community. The government does not supply water to the community. All we rely on is the borehole and these guys are the ones saving people by delivering water to households. Most of them have their customers.
The government should also help in bringing pipe-borne water to Kuje. Youths should be encouraged to do something with their hands. Many of our youths want to make quick money. And many of these guys looking for quick money are not educated and they do not want to learn any skills. So, these boys, instead of involving themselves in criminal activities, sell water; even though they can do any type of job if available. These guys around me here are very hard-working.”
In Abuja, there are several homeless people. They stay on pedestrian bridges, under the bridges at Karu, Nyanya, Berger and Area 1, Garki. They also live in parks, gardens, abandoned cars and uncompleted buildings.
In most of the shopping complexes in town, the situation is almost similar as almost every shop in the place has people sleeping in them at night.
The majority of those who stay in such shops are men who come into the town to hustle for money. Other places where homeless people are found are Mabushi, Karu and Nyanya Market, among others.
In Abuja, the plights of the homeless are compounded by the high cost of rent, which runs into hundreds of thousands or millions. Such apartments stay empty for years until luck shines on the landlord and they are taken.