Minna, the capital of Niger State and headquarters of Chanchaga Local Government Area, is currently experiencing one of the harshest water shortages in decades. This is no longer a matter of inconvenience. It is a full blown public health concern.
Water constitutes over 70 percent of the human body. Inaccessibility to it is, in effect, denying them life. Yet today, water vendors are exploiting this crisis and extorting the already burdened populace. A water truck of just 10 jerricans now sells for as much as ₦3,000 in areas like Bay Clinic. I personally purchased one at that rate today. This is unsustainable and ridiculous.
While the Farmer Governor, His Excellency Umaru Mohammed Bago, (Dausayin Minna and Mai Tausayin Talakawan Nigeria) has provided verifiable and commendable assistance in addressing this challenge since his assumption to office and with Honourable Commissioner for Water Resources, Hon. Farouk Audi (Jarumin Minna and Kauran Paiko) similarly making commendable efforts, the reality is clear. This is a systemic problem, and a solo effort cannot solve it. The scale of the crisis demands collective leadership and coordinated intervention.
All political leaders of Minna extraction must rise above party lines, personal interests and come together under a single emergency framework. We must jointly develop and implement short term, medium term, and long term solutions to this recurring water scarcity challenge.
As an immediate measure, all none functional boreholes within Minna metropolis must be identified without delay, should undergo urgent repairs and be restored to service. Allowing critical water infrastructure to decay while residents suffer is unacceptable.
In the medium term, youth empowerment schemes must be revived with purpose. Young people should be supported with water vending trucks as part of a structured public service intervention. A minimum of 20 trucks should be deployed to each of the 11 wards of Chanchaga Local Government Area. This will create jobs, stabilize water prices, and ease the burden on households.
In the long term, all lingering issues affecting potable water supply in Minna must be decisively addressed. This includes aging infrastructure, poor maintenance culture, unregulated water vending, and the absence of a sustainable urban water expansion plan. These issues require urgent attention and decisive action.
Water is not a privilege. It is life. A city without good water supply cannot guarantee good health, productivity, or peace. The time for rhetoric has passed. What Minna needs now is urgency, unity, and action.