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For residents of a Lagos community, it’s water, water everywhere, but not enough to drink
In Otodo Gbame, a community located at the back end of the highbrow Lekki area of Lagos, potable water does not come cheap for dwellers on the shanty space. HANNAH OJO, who paid repeated visits to the community, captured the plight of the people with regard to water and sanitation.
Living on the bank of a river conveys a refreshing life filled with excitement. But the reverse appears to be the case for the more than 20, 050 people occupying the large expanse of land in Otodo Gbame, a community in the backwaters of the highbrow Lekki Peninsula, Lagos. An island set on the bank of a fetid lagoon in Eti-Osa Local Government Area, life on the river bank has made them tenants to the twin problems of poverty and disease.
Assessing the community from a labyrinth of paths, one trudges through the sea bed with both feet sinking at every step, even as the air flings back grains of sand to the ankle. Many houses in the community are built on stilts standing on murky water, others on the river banks and ocean sand. There is no toilet in sight.
Otodo Gbame came into prominence six months ago when a measles epidemic broke out, killing 26 children. Afflicted children showed symptoms like rashes and pains. Many of them passed out within two or three days of infection with the virus. After the epidemic, government had to administer measles vaccination on many of the children.
Despite the fragile health status of children in the community, not much appears to have changed when the reporter visited recently. Open defecation and foul odour still pervaded the atmosphere. The reporter saw children defecating in the open and adults going to the sea shores to answer the call of nature.
Theirs is a pathetic irony: a people who live on the bank of a river, but have no access to safe drinking water. The development eats deep into the pockets of many of the residents. The current downturn in the economy has also made it impossible for the locals, many of whom make their living from fishing, to purchase packaged water.
Some men who have cashed in on the problem as a business opportunity peddle big canoes carrying tanks of water to other areas, which they return to sell to inhabitants of the community. With a 25-litre keg costing N60, the price is considered cheaper to a litre of sachet water which is sold at N10. However, the process of bringing this water through the Lagoon predisposes it to contamination.
Pascal Torsigu, a man in his early 40s, was the first to start the business of supplying borehole-treated water to the community. He is joined by three other men who are also involved in the business. They go as far as Makoko and Yaba to fill the tanks they ship back to the community.
“We pay N10, 000 to fill our tanks and also buy fuel to power our machine. We spend an average of three hours for the round trip and come back to sell the water to people in the community”.
Although his effort appears to have provided respite, it does come with its own challenges. He said: “The engine of our canoe sometimes gets faulty. This does not only lead to delays, it compromises our gains. We also face harassment from Policemen who demand bribes.
“Sometimes, managers of the boreholes in Makoko prevent us from fetching water as they demand for higher pay when they have to power the borehole engine with gasoline.”
Click photos for panoramic view
In recent times, the locals have also been at a great disadvantage owing to the dredging activities of construction companies which are building luxury apartments on the Lagoon shores. This is not only closing up the river banks, it has also affected the livelihoods of residents of the community, 80 percent of who are fishermen.
The foregoing has reduced the spending power of the locals, making them spend less on potable water. Some would boil well water to drink, a practice that contributes to the burden of diseases and ill-health in the community.
Although there are about 30 wells dug up in the communities, they are only to supply water for bathing and washing.
“One does not need a doctor to see that the water is not safe for drinking,” says Titilayo Zosu, a 24-year-old mother of two.
Continuing, she said: “I only use the well water to bathe and wash plates.
“I have discovered rashes on my skin and I suspect it to be the result of the water because it has changed in colour as dredging activities have increased in the community.
“My household spends N1,000 weekly to buy water from vendors who bring water from Makoko. It has strained the family’s budget, leaving us with less to spend on other life necessities,” she told the reporter.
It can be easily concluded that women and children are the worst hit by the scarcity of potable water plaguing the community. Benedict John, a fish trader, told our reporter that although she had her children vaccinated for measles after the outbreak of the disease, she still shakes with fear each time her children come down with high temperature.
“One cannot trust these children as they can drink any water they find lying around the place. Our people are forced to buy water in big tanks to cater for cooking and drinking.
“Now that the pace of dredging has increased, it has contaminated the water table of our wells and the effect is showing on our skin. Many people are coming on with rashes here and there,” she explained in a distressed tone.
Mr. Solomon Hunesu, a social worker and community leader, told The Nation that the challenges confronting the communities in terms of water and sanitation is pathetic.
He said: “Getting potable water here would be capital-intensive for an individual. It is not just about digging a mere well or borehole, it would cost between 16 and 20 million naira.
A borehole with water treatment would go to the depth of the water table as far as 500 to 700 metres. They have to break the rock to get water. The water at the surface here is salty.
Hunesu, who has been in the frontline of pushing the needs of the community with government, said letters have been written to corporate organisations and government to come to the aid of the community.
He also disclosed that the burden of water and sanitation in the community is complicated with the dredging activities of money bags and construction companies building luxury apartments on the island.
The development has not only compromised the water tables of some of the wells dug up in the community, it has also taken economic toils on the people.
Findings also revealed that lack of potable water comes with great health implications, which have claimed the lives of many, especially children.
Like water, like sanitation
Since the community is plagued by a shortage of portable water, it is not surprising that sanitation also suffers a setback. A government health worker who catered to children during the measles outbreak disclosed to The Nation on condition of anonymity that the community will continue to be plagued by diseases if a lasting solution is not found to the problem of potable water shortage.
The government worker said: “Many children here are susceptible to fever. There have also been cases of gastrointestinal complications since many have reported cases of vomiting and stooling. Of course, it is common sight to see stunted children looking too small for their age. Although I must confess that these children are strong, I wonder how they still survive despite the depth of dirt they are faced with on a daily basis.”
With waste littering many paths in the community and an unpleasant odour hanging perpetually in the atmosphere, the question that comes to mind is the effort the community members have made in addressing the issue of sanitation.
“We have video evidence and audio to show that we engage in sanitation activities frequently. The only challenge is that most times, cart pushers send their refuse through the bridges into the shores of the waterways, polluting the waters and affecting fishing activities.
“This development has dampened the spirit of the people who would put in efforts to clean the water shores only to discover that the dirt has returned to the sea shores the next day,” Henesu offered.
On close observations, there were no incinerators and waste bags where people in the community could dispose their waste.
In April this year, stakeholders in the Ministry of the Environment gathered for an in-house retreat to consolidate the Water and Sanitation (WASH policy) yet to be implemented in the state. Part of the recommendations made from the retreat was the need to have a WASH department in all the local government areas within the state as well as employ more environmental health officers. The need to develop a robust mechanism for enforcement and compliance of sanitation laws within the state was also mentioned.
Also proposed is the need to establish a Water Council in the state and a framework geared towards harmonising all relevant laws relating to the water sector in order to avoid conflicts.
“Through the WASH policy, we are teaching mothers to be hygienic and use safe water to provide food for their babies. The number one killer of children is diarrhea. So if we take care of the safe water part of it, that would lead to decline in the death of children,” said Dr. Babatunde Adejare, the Commissioner for Environment told the reporter during the retreat.
