EVALUATING THE PROBLEMS OF WATER SUPPLY IN LAGOS STATE

EVALUATING THE PROBLEMS OF WATER SUPPLY IN LAGOS STATE

1.1 Background to the Study

Water is life: adequate supply of water is central to life and civilization. The five basic human needs namely air, water, food, light, and heat. Water is common factor to other four. It is therefore not an understatement to say water is life, because it forms an appreciable proportion of all living things including man. In fact, water is very critical to human life. Water constitutes about 80% of animal cells. The human body by weight consists of about 70% water and several body functions depend on water (Human development report 2006).

According to the popular Nigerian musician Fela Kuti who in his song “water no get enemy” reiterated that all human activities cling on water and that man will go to any length to search for water in times of scarcity and this has proven the slogan “water is life” right. In the third world countries of the world with Nigeria inclusive, the problem of portable water supply in slum area (Kpakungu, Niger State) have poised a lot of challenges with task of collecting water falling largely on women and children and their journey to collect water is long, tiring and often dangerous, it prevents millions of mothers from working and lifting their families out of poverty. It keeps millions of children out school and from playing, depriving them of the wellbeing and education necessary to become healthy adults. Where there are clean water sources, inadequate sanitation threatens them and spreads diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera. People are forced to walk for water because governments fail to prioritise water and sanitation for all (The World Walks for Water, 2010).

According to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Report 2012, 783 million people, or 11% of the global population, remain without access to an improved source of drinking water. Such sources include household connections, public standpipes, boreholes, protected dug wells, protected springs and rainwater collections. The world has met the MDGs drinking water target five years ahead of schedule but work is not yet completely done. Also, there are regions particularly delayed such as Sub-Saharan Africa where over 40% of all people without improved drinking water live.

EVALUATING THE PROBLEMS OF WATER SUPPLY IN LAGOS STATE