Help! Another pandemic is here with us. It’s christened National Water Resources Bill. It took its root from the rejected Waterways Resources Bill of April 2017. Our fears are being confirmed before our very eyes.
Legendary Fela Anikulapo-Kuti readily came to mind here. He sang it, but we refused to take heed. And we remain unwisely heady. The huge price we are paying today.
Fela consciously sang that song. He did the hit in the middle of 20th Century. He told us in 1975: “Water no get enemy.” It’s friendly to its users. And everybody is its user.
You dare not ignore it. Because you can’t do without it. Except you don’t have life in you anymore. Even at that. They use water to give you the last bath. It is literally your last contact with this sinful world. That much Fela obliged us.
He couldn’t have. He never had that obnoxious piece of paper in his innocent sub-consciousness. It’s being branded around brazenly as National Water Resources Bill.
The bill first reared its awful head on April 11, 2017. It dabbled into our decent lives uninvited. President Muhammadu Buhari did us in. He sent the hideous bill to the National Assembly that “fateful” day.
Instantly. The bill sparked outrage. Nigerians interpreted it rightly. They saw it as a grand plot to grab the waterways. And hand same to Fulani pastoralists.
It then faded out of circulation. Three years after, it resurfaced. And Buhari’s kinsman had the guts to bring it back. That was on July 7, 2020. Sada Soli of the House of Representatives did the hatchet job. It was indeed a sad Tuesday.
But there was no respite for it. Again, criticisms dwarfed it. Controversies were triggered unabated. It was one more time forced to go under.
The sponsors were equally resilient. They would not give up. They refused to cave in. On July 29, 2022, the odious bill found its rough way back into the House.
It was reintroduced as National Water Resources Bill 2022. The evil lot fell on Soli again. He’s chairman, House Committee on Water Resources.
Since then, we have not been the same again. But some patriots have their ears to ground. They are ready to stand up to be counted at all times. They won’t take a careless no for answer. They are always there for us. We salute their courage.
Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom is one. He is unperturbed to do it without fear or intimidation. He raised one of the loudest alarms against the horrendous bill.
He was on spot: “It is suspicious that only members from the President’s home state of Katsina have continued to introduce the Water Bill before the National Assembly when almost every other member thinks differently.”
He insisted it is “the agenda to deprive the indigenous people of their God-given lands and water resources. It is anti-federalism and negates the right of Nigerians to their ancestral resources.
“Its provisions are grossly at variance with the Land Use Act. It is disguised land-grabbing legislation designed to grant pastoralists unhindered access to river basins, adjacent marine and coastal environments across the country.
“The bill is another version of ruga and cattle colonies to create grazing areas in the states for herders and their livestock.”
Ortom sounded his alarm harder and louder: “If the National Water Resources Bill is passed into law, the rights of citizens over freshwater resources – ponds, lakes, rivers, streams and springs will be taken away with impunity.
“The bill will deny states and local government authorities as well as individuals the right to make use of the water in their backyard until they get permission from Abuja.”
Ortom’s governor-colleagues were taken aback. They had no problem aligning with one of their own. They detested the bill like an Egyptian plague. They couldn’t risk dining with it even with the longest spoon. They opted for a total break from the pandemic.
Outgoing Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State cried out on their behalf. He cited an irritation from the bill: “States may make provisions for the use, management and control of water resources occurring solely within the boundaries of the states, in line with regulations and guidelines made pursuant to this bill on policy and principles of integrated water resources management.”
Afenifere is Yoruba socio-cultural organisation. It would not be left out of this. Its spokesperson, Jare Ajayi, lent credible credence to Ortom’s consternation:
“The real intention of the Federal Government is to have littoral lands available for pastoralists for whom it failed to secure lands under the rejected RUGA and its failed attempt to impose the indigene law on the people.”
Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, was furious. He would not buy into the argument. He loves this horrid bill so much. He threw himself into the fight wholesomely.
He displayed his angst. He couldn’t understand the controversies trailing it. He vomited vehemently: “It was saddening that antagonists of the bill went hysterical, giving it different colourations.”
With this high level of vexation, Adamu vowed: “The National Water Resources Bill MUST be passed into law.” That’s outrageous. Must it be forced down our cracked throats? It’s a haughty display of arrogance and recklessness. All rolled into one; carelessness.
He argued: “Some of the people vehemently opposing this bill are the ones that stand to benefit and the ones most protected.” How? “For instance, in the riverine areas, it is not good if you don’t have a law that protects the interstate waters.”
He appeared not done yet and demonstrated it: “People are talking about land-grab and say throw away this bill in what we call, in local parlance, throwing the baby with the bathwater.”
He was emboldened. He remained adamant, unrepentant. He put his life on line and swore without thinking twice: “So, to the last day that I am minister in this ministry, I will continue to pursue this bill to its logical conclusion.”
But can’t we be without this bill? We have existed for centuries outside this highly deformed bill. We lived our lives better together. Why the bill? It does not make sense now or in the farthest future.
The strength they throw into this fight is amazing. It equally amuses us. They won’t allow the ugly, hungry and angry dog to sleep on. They won’t allow it to rest in peace but in pieces.
Yes! They take absolute delight in fishing in troubled waters. Peace they don’t have. And peace they will not allow others to enjoy.
They would not allow the bill to go away. And the reason is ruga, a Fulani word for human settlement. They were once desperate to make ruga happen. They corruptly interpreted it as the acronym of “Rural Grazing Area.”
That also ended in monumental disaster. They failed woefully. It’s now more than obvious. That repulsive bill is water by label, ruga by implementation.
We can’t be convinced otherwise. That is glaring by their boastful utterances, queer body language, actions and inactions. What they couldn’t achieve with ruga. They wanted to make it up in the atrocious bill.
Next year this time, this regime will be an obsolete past tense. It will forever belong to our stinking dustbin of history. Never to rear its hideous head in our lives again!
Must you then “shit for chair” because you will soon be extinct? Come on, only evil men do that. They are making enemy out of that troubling and troubled water bill. For the wrong reasons!
For all we care, that water bill is in deep trouble. And in troubled water it will sink. That will be its inglorious end.
Mark it!