World Water Day: Obasanjo raises alarm over drilling of boreholes in Abeokuta

Nigeria’s former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has raised the alarm over the drilling of boreholes in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

He said such a move, if not checkmated, would have repercussions that could be devastating.

He lamented that the incessant construction of boreholes, particularly in Abeokuta, was a result of the failure of successive administrations to sustain the Oyan Dam project, which was initiated by his military administration in 1977.

In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo issued this warning when the management and staff of the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority (O-ORDA), led by the Managing Director, Engr. Dr. Adedeji Ashiru, visited him on the occasion of World Water Day over the weekend.

The former president called for the elimination of water resource wastage, stressing that it would be impossible to achieve food sufficiency and security without effective water management.

He pointed out that due to the failure of the dam project, residents of Abeokuta resorted to digging boreholes everywhere to source water. However, he warned that this could have repercussions, the severity of which remains unknown.

According to Obasanjo: “We cannot overemphasize the importance or usefulness of water to human life, which is why we often say that water has no enemy.

“This was why, as Military Head of State in 1977, I realized that strategic water management must be part of our drive for food sufficiency and security. We created 11 river basins, including the Lake Chad basin.

“If we only depend on rain-fed agriculture, we will definitely not get it right. Rain may come too early or too late, and there may be droughts or floods, all of which have severe effects on food production and security.

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“So, the first step toward achieving food security is the effective management of water for agriculture. All of the river basins were designed with irrigation facilities to ensure year-round farming.”

Obasanjo noted that the Oyan Dam was originally created to generate power and provide water for residents of Ogun and Lagos states. However, 48 years later, it has failed to fulfill its intended purpose.

The former president stated that the dam has the capacity to generate 9 megawatts of electricity. He emphasized that if the dam were operational, it could significantly boost power supply and help alleviate the country’s electricity challenges.

He added: “Oyan Dam was built to supply water to Abeokuta and Lagos, but it has been neglected and ignored, just like the turbine for power generation.

“The water supply for Abeokuta is lacking, and instead, we have continued to dig boreholes everywhere, causing the water table to drop lower and lower. This will have repercussions in the future. I don’t know how long it will take, but geologists can study the situation and tell us how soon these consequences will manifest.”

Speaking earlier, the MD of O-ORDA, Dr. Ashiru, stated that they visited the former president to commend him for his foresight in establishing the 11 river basins 48 years ago.

He noted that Obasanjo’s vision for effective water management and sustainability, which he had since 1977, was only formally recognized by the United Nations about 10 years ago when it introduced Sustainable Development Goal 6, which focuses on sanitation and clean water.

Ashiru added that since assuming office, his leadership has been working tirelessly to ensure that the river basins fulfill their founding purpose—primarily to boost agricultural production and control flooding, among other benefits.

The O-ORDA boss stated that President Bola Tinubu’s vision is to ensure that these river basins are fully utilized to support the administration’s food security initiatives.

He revealed that last year, the federal government supported the Ogun-Osun River Basin in constructing seven dams across the Southwest. Additionally, for the year 2025, a budgetary allocation of N45 billion has been approved for the agency to promote irrigation farming.