Who Was in Zaria — The rainy season has always been a saving grace for most residents of Zaria. For them, it is one easy alternative means of getting water. Unfortunately this year there has been no substantial amount of heavy rainfall. Coincidentally most of the wells in this town seem to have dried up too. It might come as a surprise to people who do not know Zaria well enough, that one of the greatest problems most of its residents have had to battle with over the years is the lack of pipe borne water. Water, one of the basic necessities of life, has become a luxury for most residents of this town.

This problem of water which seems to have no end has given rise to a great turn out of water vendors, who sell mostly unhygienic water sourced from rivers, wells ,and sometimes burst water pipes at outrageous prices. For those who know Zaria however, it is no news that majority of its residents spend several hours of the day at the Old water works waiting in lines ,most times orderly ,but sometimes chaotic for their turn to fetch water. Perhaps, it would have been more comfortable for these residents to purchase water from vendors, despite its unhygienic status, but due to financial reasons, they couldn't possibly rely solely on this source of water supply.

While residents in some parts of Zaria like Gyellesu, Tudun Jukun, Sabon Gari and Magume, are lucky enough to have water run through their taps about 7 to 8 times in a month, those in areas like Tukur-Tukur, Danmagaji and Zaria city ,spend several months ,but mostly years without being this lucky.

Despite efforts by various administrations to provide portable water in Zaria, and millions of naira that have been spent in the process, residents in this part of Kaduna state describe the situation as pathetic.

Demas Shingus has lived in Tukur-Tukur for the last five years. According to him water flows through the taps during festivals or a few days to these festivals."Everyone knows that there is no such thing as being used to the lack of pipe borne water. Where I stay though, a lot of people would tell you that they are used to not having water run through the taps except during Sallah, Christmas, or Easter celebrations. Sometimes we buy water from vendors and sometimes we fetch from wells, if we are fortunate enough to find one with water in it. It would have been better if we had water run through our taps, because even though we would be issued a bill to settle at the end of the month, we are certain that the water we consume is at least hygienic, and we would be saved the trouble of having to scout for water. Most times the sight of 8 out of 10 vendors would put you off, but if you turn down 8 out of 10 water vendors because of how dirty they look, or because you do not know the source of the water, at the end of the day you would have no water at all."

Not everyone who resides in Tukur-Tukur has been fortunate enough to have water flow through their taps even during festivals. Nana Fatima has lived in Danmagaji and Tukur-Tukur for the past twenty three years, and she has a different story to tell.

"In the first fifteen years that I spent in Danmagaji, I must tell you that I cannot truly remember how many times I saw water flow through my taps. Then it wasn't so much of an issue because there were wells we could fetch water from. As for the past eight years I have spent in Tukur-Tukur, I would say that water has come through my taps 10 to 15 times. It is not an easy thing living in a house where there is no water. You have little children you need to keep clean. There are places like the Kitchen, toilets and bathrooms that require constant cleaning, and there's no how you can clean these places without water. You also need to cook or take a bath. There's really nothing you do not need water for. Right now most of the wells have dried up, and we do not own a borehole in this house, so we are left to buy water from vendors or fetch from the old water works, which is quite a distance. Sometimes the vendors are even nowhere to be found. It is annoying to think that in some parts of Zaria like Samaru and Palladan, the water supply is hardly interrupted. One would think it is some place other than Zaria. "

While some people have easy access to the old water works, others who don't, end up buying from vendors a 25 litre keg of water at the cost of N30 to N60. Purchasing a keg of water for N60 in a place like Zaria, is quite expensive, but sometimes these vendors cannot be blamed, because some of them go as far as the old water works to buy this water which they sell to people. But the most pathetic of all are boarding school students, who are often seen roaming the streets of the town in search of water.

On a daily basis when schools are in session, you see students of the Popular Barewa College leaving their school premises, scavenging in between Magume, Danmagaji and Tukur-Tukur for water. When asked they tell you that they have no water in their school. One would have thought schools, particularly boarding schools ought to have water, as these students are expected to be within the premises at all times.

With the provision of gee pee water tanks and solar powered boreholes in some parts of Zaria ,particularly Zaria City, the situation isn't expected to be as bad, but it still is. According to Baba Nuhu it doesn't seem any better.

"Some people blame this problem of water on over population, but is there really any thing like that? Agreed, the provision of these tanks and the boreholes is a way forward, but if these tanks and bore holes are not sufficient and effective enough, the problem still remains. One cannot solve a problem a quarter of the way, and believe it is solved. Some of these boreholes do not work and some do in between days. Let's say we really are over populated, it is the responsibility of the state government to meet the demands of the teeming population. During Makarfi's tenure as the governor, a contract was awarded to a Construction Company, and a lot of money was said to have been spent on that project. Surprisingly the outcome wasn't any different from what we had at the initial stage. Most annoying is the fact that when asked why the situation wasn't any better, the contractors were said to have claimed that they carried out the job based on what they were paid. This issue of water is really making life difficult for so many people."

A lot of workers at the water board agreed that there is a problem of water in Zaria, but most of them are not willing to share their views. The few, who do, however, anxiously blame the terrible situation on others.

Mustapha works with the Kaduna State water board in Zaria. He totally agrees that the water situation in Zaria is nothing to write home about, but he puts the blame on the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). According to Mustapha the unstable power supply interrupts the distribution of water to various places.

"People seem to misunderstand these two things. It is not that there is no water in Zaria. The major problem is the power failure. A maximum of 12 hours of uninterrupted power supply is needed to pump water from the old water works to the Hanwa overhead tank, before it is distributed to various places. However, if there is a power outage the generator has to be put on, but we cannot run the generator for twelve hours, because it needs diesel to work. Where do you think the money for the diesel would come from everyday? No one would talk about diesel, when we are hardly ever paid our salary. During Ahmed Makarfi's tenure as the governor, it was said that a directive was given to the Zaria and Sabon Gari local government councils, to give funds for the diesel. I think it was effective for just one month and it was forgotten."

One would have thought it was the sole responsibility of the State government to provide such funds, and not make it a duty to be carried out by the local governments, simply because these offices are located within their jurisdiction.

Evidence shows that the old Zaria water works has been in existence since 1939. From a normal point of view, 69 years is more than enough time to rectify whatever water problem there is to be solved, or 48 years "from 1960", however terrible the situation may be; except of course if the water problem is a kind of legacy wished to be passed on from generation to generation.

Ismaila works at the old water works. According to him the problem of water has to do with inadequate and inefficient facilities.

"I know that there is a problem of water in Zaria, but I wouldn't say there is no water in Zaria. The main problem is that we lack adequate facilities and those that are available are worn out. To start with this town is overpopulated, and the pipes are too old. Most of these pipes were fixed years before most of us were born. Some of them need to be changed, and more need to be installed because several houses were built long after the pipes were fixed. Thus there are no pipes leading to these houses. One other problem is the dam itself. It had a life span of 50 years, and it is well over 50 years now. It isn't easy for people to leave their homes and come all the way here to fetch water. Most of the people who come here come from far places, places you wouldn't even think of trekking to. The State government is trying very hard to see that the water problem comes to an end. There are several projects underway, most of them at an advanced stage, including the construction of another dam."

While Mustapha and Ismaila agree that there is certainly a problem of water in Zaria, Mohammed who also works at the water board, disagrees with them. According to him there is no reason why anyone should say such a thing.

"It is really annoying to hear people lament that there is no water in Zaria. Why should anyone say something like that when they know that it isn't true? If there was no water, how possible would it be that people fetch water from the old water works, and how come water flows in places like Samaru, Kongo or Magume. The thing about Nigerians is that they tend to exaggerate little problems, or what they refer to as a problem."

It is surprising that anyone who has lived in Zaria or still lives in Zaria, could ever think this way. Nothing could be more obvious than the problem of water in Zaria, even to a little child. It is only logical that if out of a 100 households, only 20 to 25 enjoy the benefit of pipe borne water, how can anyone say the problem doesn't exist?

Just a few days ago the Muslims in Zaria assembled at the id prayer ground, praying to the Almighty to send down the rain. It is hoped that if it rains, the wells would once again have water, and the water scarcity would be minimized.

The Kaduna state government, on the other hand, recently issued gee pee water tanks to several settlements in the town, and also built at different places solar powered boreholes in a bid to minimize the problem of water. Even though most of these boreholes do not seem to function anymore, and some of the projects have been abandoned since 2007, residents of this town are delighted that finally a great step has been taken to ensure the provision of water. In the meantime no one seems to care about the source of the water they consume, as long as it isn't the colour of mud.