A professor of hydrology and water resources management, Prof.(Mrs) Mary Nkiru Ezemonye has tasked government at all levels to invest in water infrastructural development and maintenance, saying that “when this is neglected for too long, investing in and maintaining these water infrastructures will become a burden.”
Ezemonye made the call while delivering the 354th inaugural lecture of the University of Benin with the topic, “Water Scarcity, Water Stress and Water Security: The ‘S’ Sydndrome.”.
The University Don said most of the world’s developing countries have challenges in managing their hydrological environment and have not achieved water security.
Ezemonye said hydrological poverty is a condition in which a nation or region is unable to cover the cost of a sustainable water supply of clean water for all the people at all times.
According to her, most Nigerian urban and rural centres depend on water supply from groundwater. If over abstraction or pollution by any standard and level occurs, the situation will be very precarious.
Ezemonye noted that there is a need to plan for urban/rural water supply by ensuring that water governance is effectively the responsibility of the government.
” Nigeria must arrest the prevailing phenomena of widespread inefficiencies which reflect water scarcity, stress, and insecurity . It is necessary to address institutional challenges/plans to manage water resources before the worst impacts.
“Nigeria needs to address our poor water governance system. The government needs to take full control of water abstraction and supply.
“The haphazard nature of ground water abstraction will sooner than expected result in disasters that will be irreversible. Water scarcity and faulty policies usually impact the environment, affecting the populace both directly and indirectly. “Ezemonye said.
