Indiscriminate drilling of boreholes pose serious threat in Ogun ― NIWE

The Nigerian Institution of Water Engineers (NIWE), on Wednesday, hinted that indiscriminate drilling of water boreholes in Ogun State, posed a serious threat to human existence in no distant future.

This was disclosed by the National President of the Institution, Adeyinka Sobowale while addressing newsmen as part of activities marking the 2023 World Water Day, held at the Nigerian Society of Engineers Secretariat, Abeokuta.

Sobowale noted that Abeokuta, the state capital, had been witnessing daily drilling of boreholes, which he said was not good for the rocky town whose basement is being weakened with the action.

He submitted that the action without regulation could hasten tremors and earthquakes.

“Our man-made activity of drilling the ground for water can shift us towards the earthquake zone. Continuous drilling of boreholes will create serious fractioning in the future,” he added.

Sobowale, therefore, called for the establishment of a regulatory commission to monitor and regulate activities.

Speaking on the theme for the 2023 celebration “Accelerating Change”, Sobowale, that the world over is facing huge water and sanitation crisis, hence the need for governments to be committed to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 as part of the 2030 agenda.

Sobowale flanked by NIWE’s Publicity Secretary, Segun Ogunnoiki; its National Program Coordinator, Engr (Mrs) Temitope Aboyeji, and Abeokuta Chapter Chairman, Engr Abiola Oyerinde, hinted that 179 million Nigerians do not have access to safely managed drinking water services.

The NIWE national president said, “Nigeria is clearly not on track in meeting goal 6 of the SDGs, the reasons are not far-fetched; and is not limited to declining investment in the sector, low capacity development and utilization in the areas of technical competence, system optimization, the insufficient share of renewable energy; low operational standards in State Water Agencies, ageing staff and lack of succession planning, poor cost recovery and lack of regulation of state actors among others.

“The Nigerian Government at all levels need to rethink our strategies of meeting SDG 6; total commitment to ensure that these goals are pursued with passion for the well-being of our people. Meeting the SDGs will ensure that our nation becomes an egalitarian society”, NIWE national chairman submitted.

Photo caption: The National Programme Coordinator, Nigerian Institution of Water Engineers (NIWE), Engr (Mrs) Temitope Aboyeji; Engr (Dr) Adeyinka Sobowale, NIWE’s national president and Engr. Abiola Oyerinde, Abeokuta Chapter Chairman at the 2023 World Water Day Press conference, on Wednesday, in Abeokuta.

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