Life in Danger

When I settled that I would write about water, the first thought that came to my mind was the lyrics of Fela's hit song; ' If you fight am unless say you wan die! water... e no get enemy' it goes on about the near omnipotence of the earth's most prominent substance, its characteristic neutrality and our non-negotiable dependence on it. The human body contains up to 70 percent water. According to HH Mitchell, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Our brain and heart comprise 73 percent water, while our lungs are around 83 percent water. The skin has up to 64 percent water, muscles and kidneys are 79 percent, while our least watery parts, bones comprise 31 percent water. {usgs.gov}. If I may put it in this context, you are about 20 percent shy of being as much 'water' as a watermelon.

The health benefits of drinking enough water are numerous, from improved organ functionality to better skin and even improved mental health. Studies have shown that drinking at least half a gallon daily is essential to sustaining good health particularly in high-temperature areas such as sub-Saharan Africa. In spite of quite a few naturally available sources of fresh water, dehydration is one more tragedy which is taken for granted as a fact of life in countries like Nigeria, where electricity and water supply are at a premium. We just do not drink enough water as many Nigerians still prefer a bottle of soda to a bottle of water, which actually costs less. Just as many people in the country are oblivious of how harsh the realities are, regarding water availability and distribution, while others are aware but simply do not care about how our actions and behaviour towards the environment have endangered reliable water supply now, and for future generations. 97 percent of the water on earth is saltwater, which is no good for drinking and agricultural purposes. Of the remaining 3 percent, two-thirds is locked up in icecaps and glaciers, leaving only a third available across the globe for agricultural and everyday use. Generally speaking there is enough freshwater on earth for about 7 billion people but 1.2 billion or so, however, live in areas of physical scarcity, meaning they live without a guaranteed supply {UNDESA} This, of course, is highly disturbing as the global population is set to hit 9 billion by 2050.

Worse still, the world is facing a crucial battle against water-borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid and hepatitis. 3.4 million deaths annually across the world, are attributed to water-borne diseases {W.H.O 2009}.  According to a report published in The Lancet, that is more deaths than are caused by H.I.V and the war on terrorism combined! According to a study conducted by the United Nations, one in ten people in the developing world lack access to clean drinking water. This explains why about 4,000 children die every day due to water-related diseases, particularly in Africa and Asia. In Nigeria for example, conservative estimates show that less than 30 percent of the population have access to clean water. This means that at every point in time, up to 50 percent of the population are at risk of contracting a water-borne disease. I for one cannot boast of a consistent supply of clean water and I reside in Abuja, our capital and our flagship city. The future looms bleak as pollution is sure to worsen thanks to the population explosion in urban cities, lack of education, corruption in the government, and dilapidated infrastructure if not a complete lack of it.

Despite the gloomy handwriting on the wall, there is some glimmer of hope flickering away at the end of the tunnel. For all its contributions to the degradation of the environment, technology is now showing us new ways through which we can optimise management of water resources such as rainwater harvesting, drip irrigation for farming, purification methods which turn sewage water into clean drinking water and even sensors which detect leakages in underground pipes and thereby prevent significant amount waste. In order for us to be prepared to deal with the growing crisis, we must start immediately to make the necessary investments in education and in these advanced water systems, borrowing a blueprint from countries like the Netherlands where population density and the threat of widespread water pollution prompted them to innovate new practices, which have ensured an improved overall health status and productivity among the population.
We require a quantum and decisive leap from vast ignorance, to the constructive adoption of global best practices in water use. Tackling the water crisis especially in Nigeria and Africa generally, can prevent millions of deaths annually and thereby unburden our already critical healthcare delivery system.
 Pessimists could argue that even the youngest living generation is beyond significant redemption from these challenges but then even they would agree that one certain way to lay a strong foundation for the needed change would be through education both within and outside the schools, as Ignorance is the single most dangerous factor contributing to the problem. Our entire curriculum from primary to tertiary education needs to reflect environmental sensitivity so as to adequately conscientize children about the gravity of the challenge that beckons and ensure that their minds are naturally tuned to be sensitive and solution driven. The stalled industrialisation of the country also presents a silver lining opportunity for us to be guided henceforth by environmental sensitivity in our development.

The water crisis is a global challenge and the world simply cannot afford to sit by and wait for us to play catch up. There is no time for us to go the whole nine yards through developmental stages, before arriving at solutions which are already available, tested and proven in the developed world. Neither do we have time for our governments and indeed the people themselves to play politics with water.
The challenges regarding environmental management are multidimensional and interconnected. Air and water pollutions are one and the same because if you pollute the air, you are sure to have unhealthy waters as is the case in the Niger Delta region of the country where land, water and air pollution have combined to render the life in the area unbearable for the inhabitants. Pollution in the country also has it's ripple effects on socioeconomic life. Again the Niger Delta is a case in point as the would be fishermen have instead taken up arms against the government in protest of the degradation of their waters, their source of livelihood before the discovery and exploration of oil in the region, which has only led to enormous pollution.

The least we can hope for at this stage is a series of concerted efforts towards educating the population in the rural and urban communities as water pollution is widespread in both. Despite the availability of cooking stoves, majority of Nigerians in rural areas still depend on firewood to prepare their meals. Farmers, hunters and herdsmen in rural areas also contribute their quota to the degradation through bush burning and overgrazing which causes erosion. Other factors include  indiscriminate collection of sand for building purposes, leading to silting of streams and rivers which causes them to disappear and leaching of soil which diminishes fertility and in turn affects agricultural productivity. We need to develop vigorous rural sensitization programs, collaborating with community leaders opinion leaders as well as religious leaders through townhall meetings and sermons.  The radio is also an effective medium for communication and education particularly in the indigenous languages of the communities. They need to be taught that deforestation for the purpose of satisfying domestic needs is unsustainable and makes the ecosystem highly vulnerable. Furthermore they ought to be shown with practical evidence around them, how dangerous their actions are to the environment as well as to their own health and practical alternatives should be made available to them. 

In the urban centres, sanitisation is an almost alien concept as most of our drainage systems are not functional and serve as nothing more than a breeding ground for mosquitoes which carry malaria parasites, as well as various other kinds of bacteria which eventually make their way to pollute our available sources of fresh water. We should commence a mass sensitization programme to educate the general public on the need for proper waste disposal which is the number one public health safety concern in most of our cities. We should take advantage of all available mediums of communication, including traditional and new media to fight against the ignorance and insensitivity of most Nigerians. The government on their part should conduct adequate construction and reconstruction of drainage systems where necessary, of course including available technologies to improve maintainability and also provide for proper waste disposal management and recycling for optimisation.

The damage has been going on for aeons and we are all responsible for the sorry state of our ecosystem. Obviously, there is no "one size fits all" solution to the plethora of environmental challenges. However, if we can successfully lay the foundation then our children will live healthily and comfortably enough to create and innovate even better methods of water and indeed overall environmental management.