LAST week, there was a dispute at the House of Representatives as concerned lawmakers kicked against the reintroduction of the controversial National Water Resources Bill slated for first reading. The bill, which was initially introduced during the Seventh and Eighth assemblies, was rejected in response to public outcry. It was however re-introduced in the 9th Assembly via a motion to revisit some bills, but was withdrawn following protests by notable House members, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and other stakeholders across the country. In the face of the contention by the lawmakers, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila said that the proponent of the bill had given assurances that the contentious issues in the former bill had been addressed in the new bill. However, Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, subsequently reiterated that the leadership of the House would reject the bill if it contained the obnoxious provisions rejected by Nigerians.
It is quite distressing to learn of the attempt to reintroduce the Water Resources Bill rejected by the Eighth Senate under Dr. Bukola Saraki into the parliament yet again. Recent reports in the media say that Senate President Ahmad Lawan is anxious to see the bill through in the closing moments of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, but the potential benefits to the country have not been highlighted. In previous editorials, we stated clearly why the bill could not be passed into law by a parliament interested in the corporate existence of the country. We recall how it split the parliament into ethnic lines then. What has changed in terms of the government’s disposition to warrant a resuscitation of the bill now? If the bill was inappropriate and evil-intentioned then, what makes it an elixir now?
As we observed in previous editorials, the rejected bill sought to harness the resources of the country for the business interest of herders and their sponsors, which was why it met with a brickwall in the Senate. It pandered to the interests of people who apparently wanted to subjugate the rest of the country to servitude in order for them to thrive. The bill sought a takeover of all the waterways in the country by the Federal Government. It sought to bring all water resources (surface and underground) and the banks of the water sources under the control of the Federal Government through the agencies to be established by the document. Section 13 of the Bill stated: “In implementing the principles under subsection (2) of this section, the institutions established under this Act shall promote integrated water resources management and the coordinated management of land and water resources, surface water and ground water resources, river basins and adjacent marine and coastal environment and upstream and downstream interests.” According to Section 2(1): “All surface water and ground water, wherever it occurs, is a resource common to all people.’’
If the reintroduction of the bill last year strongly accentuated the suspicion of a selfish motive, namely to annex the land in littoral states to favour the economic and political interest of a particular section of the country, its reintroduction this year becomes even more egregious, particularly in the face of public utterances by Senator Lawan to the effect that whatever President Buhari presented to the legislature would be good for the country. We insist that there can be no justification for depriving individuals, states and local governments of the benefits of their waterways. It does not require special intelligence to see that a move which undermines the cornerstone of federalism cannot be in Nigeria’s interest. Nigerians are well aware of the suffering that the mismanagement of Nigeria’s oil wealth has caused in the oil-producing communities, and it is confounding that a piece of legislation which previously sought to hijack water resources in the country from their owners is being pushed into the National Assembly. Repackaging an obnoxious bill under the guise that it has undergone renovation is a disingenuous tactic. As long as the central purpose of the Bill remains intact, it must not be considered by the National Assembly. It cannot be imposed on the generality of Nigerians.
It is a fact, as we argued previously, that with the many challenges occasioned by the centralisation of control and authority at the Centre, Nigerians have consistently called for restructuring and the devolution of powers, especially as the defects in the existing federal arrangement are legion. Sadly, a bill crafted to compound the centralisation which hobbled developmental efforts for decades has been tabled before the National Assembly yet again. Any proposed legislation which seeks the annexation of the legitimate resources of states and negates the restructuring imperative stands condemned. Undermining the peace, progress and stability of the country by breaching the tenets of federalism is a recipe for disaster.
There is no reason to deplete the country’s public finances over a legislation that promises to have negative impact on the country. It is unnecessary to waste legislative time and energy on a matter that should be dead and buried.
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