Despite water being consistently cited as a top
priority for poor communities and the fact that
sanitation brings the greatest return on investment of
any development intervention, rural communities
have been overlooked in the global development
agenda.
Targets set for maternal and child health, primary
education, gender equality and economic growth are
all in some way dependant on people gaining access
to the most basics of human needs: safe water,
improved hygiene and sanitation.
These issues will become ever more pertinent as the
world’s population continues to grow,
as cities and rural communities expand and there is
increasing stress on global water resources.
This, together with the impact of climate change,
means there is an increasingly urgent need to tackle
the sanitation and water crisis facing the poor and
the less privileged in Nigerian.
Such was the case with
Taran and Gaukaka-
Lasauya communities of
Bauchi State when Sunday
Vanguard visited the two
communities in the
eastern and northern parts
of the state.
The visit was at the
instance of the leadership
of WaterAid Nigeria, a civil
society organisation,
CSO,with a mission to
transform lives by
improving access to safe water, improved hygiene
and sanitation in the world’s poorest communities.
In these rural communities were men, pregnant
women, youth and children whose appearance
evoked sympathy.
Investigations revealed that in Taran community,
there was only one source of water for the villagers
and animals to drink.
For the villagers, it is a way of staying alive; it didn’t
matter if water borne diseases become their way of
life.
“We drink water from the same source with our
goats. When we get to the stream to fetch water and
discover that goats have come ahead of us to drink,
what we do is to fetch the surface that we believe the
mouths of the goats touched and pour it away, then
proceed to fetch our own,” said Rahal Bitrus, one of
the women in Taran.
“We don’t have any other source of water. We just
reduce the surface and fetch our drinking water even
though we know there are consequences, but we are
left with no option.
“The water sometimes gives us and our children
diarrhea and typhoid fever and very painful urine,
but we still go ahead and drink it to stay alive.
“We trek about nine kilometers to get to the river to
fetch the water we are talking about, and, of course,
it is affecting our lives, economy and even our
children’s education.
“This lack of water affects our economy in the sense
that we have to look for water before going to the
market and, by the time you go and come back, on
getting to the market, some transactions would have
been made which you must have missed and
sometimes we end up not going to the market
because we must have been late and prospective
customers gone home.”
In the case of Gaukaka-
Lasauya community, in an
interview, the Water,
Sanitation and Hygiene,
WASH, community
Chairman, Safianu Idris
said the lack of water had
been a serious challenge.
He said, “This lack of water
has been a serious
challenge to us and our
children”.
Investigations revealed
that no single child in the community of about 1,700
dwellers goes to school.
The closest school to the community is about six
kilometers away.
Asked about government’s involvement in the
provision of water, road, school and health center,
Idris said the local and state governments had never
done anything to assist the community.
“We have taken our plight to our local government
several times, but there has been no response. The
officials have refused to give us water not to talk of
road, school or health center.”
To the communities, before the intervention of
WaterAid Nigeria, life was like living in hell.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/04/we-drink-water-with-goats-from-same-source-bauchi-villagers/

One thing our government has failed to provide for Nigerian in the last 55years of independence is good and drinkable water supply.
What we have in this country are bore-holes, wells, streams or water coming from rock.
We need drinkable water in our taps and not these dirty water we're forced to use.

To be fair to the government, water has never been an issue where I come from

So what have the so many state governors of Bauchi state been doing all these while?

E.ast

Eleyi legidi gan oooo.

Drinking water with 'goat'

Thank God For my mama who raised me in alagbado....

They voted a man who gave schools because of tribal and religious bigotry.

Whatever that happens in North should always stay in North for the benefit of the Nuts

Relax and Cry no more! Change is here! You'll drink bore hole this time!

You drink water with goat! Seriously no different between an aboki man with a goat because u guys act the same way Y complain?

Wetin concern me?

SPINA101:
You drink water with goat! Seriously no different between an abokì man with a goat because u guys act the same way Y complain?

Tell them abeg.

Lalasticala abeg give us a bigger audience ......happy easter

Honestly, I pity the north. It will take them about fifty years to catch up with the south in terms of human and economic development and that's only if they agree to eschew their religious extremism and embrace western education strongly.

The Boko Haram menace has taken them twenty years back because as it stands, investors will be very wary of investing in the northern part of the country due to resurgent fears of insurgency and violence. Violence and war never pays. The Biafran war totally destabilized the east and Nigeria at large; the warri riots almost crippled warri even till today; militancy in the Niger delta drove away foreign investors and citizens especially in port harcourt. Port harcourt became a shadow of its former self. Violence never pays.

The north will need about 100 billion dollars in order to develop critical social institutions and infrastructure in their zone over the next 10 years. Where will the money come from? No wonder their politicians and leaders are scared of resource control.