Echoing ongoing rehabilitation and reconstruction of obsolete waterworks in Kwara

By Mashood Olalekan Issa-Onilu

Undoubtedly, water remains a necessity for the survival of human beings and other creatures. Studies have shown water overtimes, to be the most essential substances on the earth, without which there would be no life on earth.
According to the Oxford Advance Learner English Dictionary, water is a clear liquid that has the chemical formulate H2O, required by all forms of life on earth. This meaning better and clearly explains the importance and usefulness of water to humanity.
The late musical maestro, Fela Anikulapo Kuti in his philosophical lyric said ‘water is life’  and has no enemy. Kuti sang “if you want to bath na water you go use, if you want to eat, na water you go use, if you want to wash, na water you go use, If you want to poo, na water you go use, Omi olota! Water no get enemy’.
In Kwara, a state with the appellation of State of Harmony has for long before now suffering from a perennial water shortage. This unpalatable situation remained one of the problem facing the state particularly Ilorin, the state capital before emergence of this administration. During the previous administration of Abdulfatah Ahmed, all effort put in place yielded no desired result despite the several billions of naira expended on water reticulation in the state for more than eight years.
This problem still persisted until the inauguration of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq as the Chief Executive Officer of the state. Abdulrasaq took over the mantle of leadership on May 29, 2019 and it takes him no time to swing into action towards addressing the protracted water shortage.
Apparently, The Governor gave directive that the Ministry of Water Resources should develop a template that would ensure improved water supply and make the problem a thing of the past. He also noted that the template must be one that would make water available at the nooks and crannies of the state.
Sequel to the provision of the template, the chief executive spontaneously released a substantial amount of money to the state ministry of Water Resources to fix some of the abandoned waterworks in the state. They include Asa Dam waterworks, Igbaja waterworks, Kaiama waterworks, Patigi waterworks and Lafiagi waterworks among others.
It is worthy to note that the fund, which was released to the state Water Resources through the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr Ezikiel Adesola Afolabi, was disbursed for the project in earnest. The Permanent Secretary immediately set up a committee to start the execution of the project. Consequently, materials for the project were purchased.
While assessing some of the equipment purchased for the reconstruction and rehabilitation, Afolabi, promised to assiduously monitor and supervise the work so as to ensure its success. He also expressed satisfaction with the quality of the items while he urged the contractor’s that would be handling the repair to execute the project in line with the specifications to justify the government huge investment.
The chief Ministry officer commended the government for the zeal it had in making things work within a short period of the administration, asserting that the ministry was ready to deliver the project within the timeframe.
“The present government in Kwara state under the able leadership of Gov. Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq had shown its commitment in making sure that things are put back to normal in the state”, he said.
Afterward, engineers, who are all staffers of the ministry resumed to commence work across four centres in state while they expressed optimism that the impact of government in ensuring adequate water supply to all and sundry would materialise once the project was completed.
When the Press Secretary of the Ministry Olalekan Issa-Onilu visited the sites, the engineers in separate interviews assured the public that the reconstruction and rehabilitation of waterworks would remedy the suffering of the people. The engineers, Olatunde Mike , Isiaka Ibraheem, Taiye Salami and Sunday Bamidele are handling Igbaja, Kaiama, Lafiagi, Asadam and Patigi waterworks respectively. Findings thereafter showed that the works in their respective areas have reach between 90 and 95 per cent completion.
Bamidele specifically stated that his team was done with installation of the intakes at Igbaja waterworks because that is where water is coming to the downstream. He also explained high live pump for supplying water had been installed as well as dosing pump. Other areas that have been completed according to him are the filter media adaptation, and that work was seriously going on the dehydration that will feed water into the water tank.
The engineer applauded the state Governor for making available the needed tools and equipment. He also appreciated Abdulrasaq for giving the engineers in the ministry the opportunities to showcase their talent, which he said had been eluding them in the time past. This, he said would show that civil servants in the state were capable of handling many works in diligent manner.
Bamidele, who did not mince words remarked that the present administration was writing its name in gold as far as the state is concerned particularly for showing the general public that there are good hands among the civil servants, instead of giving the works supposedly to be carried out by civil servant to justify their competency and expertise to contractors, who in most cases would not do the job to satisfaction.
Despite the fact that the work is yet to be completed, about eight out of 14 communities that the project is meant for have started getting water while other who are yet getting would got theirs as soon as the test-running completed to ascertain the level of the bust and leakages.
An octogenarian, who is Chief Imam of  Budo Edun Idera in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state, Alhaji  Hassan Al-Imam could not hide his feelings when the team of inspectors visited the site as he was full of praises to the Executive Governor of the state for providing adequate water supply to his community.
According to him, “Budo Edun Idera have not been getting water in the last eight years. The old man glorified God and the governor for bringing water to their doorsteps. Just like Oliver Twist, the Islamic leader also appealed to the governor to look into the deplorable state of roads in the area, saying the community would forever be happy if the road from Igbaja to Idofian were rehabilitated.
All in all, it is crystal clear that government investment in the water sector of the state has begun to yield the desired result just within the 100 days in office. Observers noted, therefore, that for the government to achieve this far within three month, there is a great hope that such government will definitely take the state to the Canaanland.
*Issa-Onilu, is the Press Secretary, Kwara State Ministry of Water Resources