INVESTIGATION: Failed multi-million naira constituency water projects litter Sokoto communities

Many rural communities in Sokoto State are at the risk of an outbreak of diarrhea and other diseases due to an acute shortage of potable water. This is in spite of multi-million naira constituency borehole projects purportedly facilitated by federal lawmakers representing the people. ABDULWAHEED SOFIULLAHI who visited a number of communities, reports that the 2020/2021 projects benefited the people for just a short time. Two years after execution, he found, none of the boreholes was functional.

Over the past three weeks, Ibrahim Shuaibu, 35, finds himself in agony, often writhing on the dusty floor, desperately seeking relief from the relentless pain torturing his body. Unlike others who hide their sufferings, Ibrahim is unable to conceal his pain, as he witnesses a distressing transformation in his body. Every time he drinks the tainted rainwater collected from an open-dug land, his private part swells, causing ominous consequences.

In Kyadawa Community, in the Gada LGA of Sokoto State, water, a crucial necessity for life, has become more valuable than petroleum. Last year, when scarcity hit the community, leaving residents thirsty and desperate, they came up with a bold plan to dig the land and collect rainwater to create a reservoir for their needs.

However, as time went by and the contaminated water flowed through their bodies, a sinister sickness gripped the entire community. People suffered from unfamiliar illnesses, primarily marked by painful diarrhea and persistent typhoid fever. Tragically, due to inadequate care, many lives were lost. For Ibrahim, the cause of his suffering remained a mystery to everyone.

“It was only a year ago that I first noticed the swelling in my private area,” Ibrahim recalls, his words filled with raw agony.

Seeking relief, he traveled to Sokoto town and shared his troubles with a sympathetic doctor. The doctor, moved by Ibrahim’s plight, offered a glimmer of hope through medication but also warned him to avoid the deadly water.

“Stop drinking this contaminated water,” the doctor cautioned, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation.

Yet, Ibrahim felt trapped, with no alternatives. Giving up this water meant giving up sustenance itself. He faced a heartbreaking dilemma: endure the swelling and torment or cut ties with the water entirely. As a result, his private area continued to swell, and Ibrahim’s tears flowed freely, reflecting his unending anguish.

In the village of Awakkala, located in Goronyo Local Government Area, Sheu Malami, a man in his mid-50s, shares a heartfelt story of water scarcity. It affects his community, located approximately 78 kilometers away from Shuaibu’s home in Gada LGA. Malami vividly describes how this dire situation has impacted their lives. In 2021, a borehole brought them hope and relief as clean water flowed freely, bringing back their smiles.

Sadly, their joy was short-lived when the borehole abruptly stopped working just five months later. Since then, they have been forced to rely on a contaminated well, which has caused harm to Malami’s health and that of his fellow villagers.

“We’ve been plagued by infections, particularly water-borne diseases,” he laments.

The impoverished community struggles to gather funds for the borehole’s repair, reaching out to politicians for help, but their pleas have been ignored.

The tale of water scarcity unfolds further in the Tartakoi Community, also situated within the Gada LGA, where Aishatu Umar resides. Aishatu, a mother of five children, endures an ongoing battle with an unexplained fever. Little does she know that the root cause of her ailment lies in the very water she drinks from – the water from the nearby stream.

In 2021, the community had the privilege of drinking from a newly constructed source of clean water. Unfortunately, this precious lifeline ceased to function merely three months after its installation. Since then, the villagers have been left with no choice but to rely on the stream water as their sole source of sustenance.