A US-based water company, Xylem, has called on the Federal Governments and other stakeholders to increase investment to improve infrastructure for adequate provision of water for the citizenry.
Mr Olukayode Olayemi, Xylem Business Development Manager, made the call at a water utility seminar on Wednesday in Abuja.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the seminar was organised by Xylem, one of the world’s leading water technologists in conjunction with Sustainable Smart Solution Company.
Olayemi said that the purpose of the summit was to help the FCT Water Board and other water utilities in the country address water-related challenges.
According to him, water is very critical to our existence because no one can survive without water.
“Water is recycling; the same water our forefathers drank is the same we are also drinking today.
“And a government that meant business will know that water is something it should be critical about and take every measure to invest in it,” he said.
He also called on the government and the people to show more care about Water Corporation, adding that if the water corporation of a state or country was not working, it should bother the government and the people.
Olayemi said that one of the major problems in the North East and North Central that usually caused farmer/ herder clashes was water.
He said that if there was ever going to be a Third World War, water would be mainly responsible.
The expert said that contrary to insinuations that water “can expire, it is the container that can expire and not water as the content.’’
He said that only one per cent of the world’s water is drinkable.
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He said that this was in spite of the fact that 75 per cent of the world was covered with water, adding that 90 per cent of the world’s freshwater was in Antarctica.
He said though plenty water abounds in Nigeria but said it was necessary to ask if Nigeria was conserving its water, adding that it was necessary for Nigeria to work for its future by preserving water.
Olayemi said that about 3.4 million people died every year from water-related causes and this would increase if measures were not taken to curtail it.
Mr Usman Aliyu, the Head of Department FCT Water Distribution said that the FCT Water board had ensured constant routine water supply in the city.
He said that the summit was an eye-opening for them to do more in the area of water supply in the FCT, adding that it would ensure collaboration with experts in terms of new technology to ensure proper water supply.
He said that the department would ensure that all parts of Abuja enjoyed water supply including the satellite town that hitherto lacks water.
Mrs Stella Andrew, the Managing Director, Sustainable Smart Solution Group said that the company was making an effort to provide a solution to the water problem as it affects residents of FCT.
She said that the company would partner with FCT Water Board and other government agencies to bring an end to the perennial water problem in the FCT.
(NAN)
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