By Adamu Abdullahi
Communities in some parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are forced to rely on contaminated water sources such as dug wells and stagnant streams shared with animals, posing serious health risks and increasing the spread of waterborne diseases. This practice remains a major public health concern, often leading to outbreaks of cholera, typhoid and dysentery.
In these communities, water sources—especially during the dry season—are unhygienic and likely to contain bacteria, viruses and parasites from animals. The burden of fetching water falls disproportionately on women and children, who spend several hours daily trekking long distances to access water. This consumes valuable time, limits educational opportunities and worsens household hardship.
Despite ongoing engagements by the FCT Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) with partners such as WaterAid Nigeria and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to build capacity and improve water supply and sanitation, remote communities like Simami still lack basic infrastructure such as boreholes. As a result, access to reliable and safe water remains unaddressed.
The traditional ruler of Simami and other community members have repeatedly appealed to the government for a functional borehole or a dependable safe water supply, but these pleas have largely gone unanswered.
Simami’s situation reflects a wider national crisis. The World Bank estimates that about 70 million Nigerians lack access to safe drinking water, contributing significantly to high child mortality rates from waterborne diseases. Although a state of emergency was declared in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector in 2018, many remote communities still lack adequate infrastructure.
Ubo (Simami) community, located in the FCT’s Kuje Area Council under Rubochi Development Area, is home to residents who suffer from persistent water shortages and poor road networks, taking a toll on education and livelihoods. Accessing the community from Kuje Area Council takes not less than three hours due to the deplorable state of the road.
With a population of just over 1,000 people, Simami is made up largely of Gbagyi and Bassa ethnic groups. Most residents are farmers cultivating guinea corn, maize and yam. Like other surrounding villages in Rubochi, access to clean water remains a major challenge, forcing residents to rely on dug wells.
According to His Royal Highness (HRH) Aliyu Kaura, the Village Head of Simami, the wells dry up during the peak of the dry season, leaving residents with only one alternative—a shallow, stagnant stream used for all domestic purposes, including drinking.
“Our suffering has gone unnoticed. Despite several cries for help over the years, our story has remained the same,” he said.
A community elder, Sam Ajiya, said residents have become accustomed to the hardship. “Year in, year out, we struggle to access clean water. Women and children bear the highest burden. During scarcity, women may make up to four trips a day just to secure drinking water and meet basic needs,” he explained.
Zainab Haruna, a mother of three who sells akara in the community, said she wakes up as early as 4:00 a.m. daily to fetch water for her family. “During the dry season, water no dey. We wake up by 4:00 a.m. before we get water, and sometimes we can only fetch once. After 10:00 a.m., we go again,” she said.
According to Zainab, the water fetched is used for drinking, cooking and washing, often with little or no purification. “This is the water I use for akara. If I fetch it, I wash the beans. Sometimes I boil the water before washing the beans, then take it to the grinding machine,” she added.
Residents say the situation is distressing, with humans and animals often waiting their turn to drink from the same source. Nineteen-year-old Hafsat Musa explained how they try to reduce health risks. “We dey drink am. We parboil the water before cooking. If na to drink, we boil am first and add alum,” she said.
The water crisis in rural communities across the FCT requires urgent attention. Despite the responsibility of the FCT Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency to provide services to rural areas—home to about 66 per cent of the FCT’s population—around 20 per cent of rural households still lack access to at least basic water supply.
However, many of these initiatives are not visible in remote communities like Ubo (Simami), where residents believe they have been forgotten and neglected, remembered only during political campaigns and election periods.
Community members said they have made numerous requests to the Local Government Area Council, which is responsible for the establishment, operation and maintenance of rural water supply schemes with support from RUWASSA and the Federal Government. Yet, no borehole or alternative reliable water source has been provided.
Beyond water, the community also lacks other essential social amenities needed to make the environment habitable and to give children the opportunity to reach their full potential through quality education and improved healthcare.
A visit around the community shows that the main water sources for domestic use and livestock are stagnant, immobile streams that are shallow, narrow and muddy, with reddish-brown coloration that makes it difficult to identify clean water. This situation has brought untold hardship to residents, who have little or no alternative.
Community leaders have renewed their appeal for government intervention to address the critical water scarcity facing the area. Residents are also calling on authorities to support rural communities across the FCT in areas such as security, water supply, agriculture and healthcare.
They warned that the absence of clean water, security posts and good roads, coupled with rising tensions between farmers and herders, could lead to severe food insecurity if urgent action is not taken.
