In Yobe, it’s ‘Mai-Ruwa’ to the rescue!

Water crises in the state capital of Yobe, Damaturu is as old as Yobe’s creation in 1991. Curiously, the situation has persisted despite interventions by the federal government in collaboration with the World Bank, through a joint effort called ‘Urban Water Scheme Programme.” Today, one of the glaring evidence of the acute water shortage in […]

Water crises in the state capital of Yobe, Damaturu is as old as Yobe’s creation in 1991. Curiously, the situation has persisted despite interventions by the federal government in collaboration with the World Bank, through a joint effort called ‘Urban Water Scheme Programme.”

Today, one of the glaring evidence of the acute water shortage in the state capital is the proliferation of commercial boreholes at strategic locations in the town and it is one of the lucrative businesses so far in Damaturu, despite  that it requires a lot of capital to start.

Alhaji Hamza who operates opposite Maqabartar Gwange, a suburb not far from the government house, said the borehole business is producing a sizeable profit, saying more than 300 water carts patronise him daily. Cuscus, as the water cart is popularly referred to, conveys a maximum of 12 jerry cans of 25 litres capacity per trip and weighs at least 350kgs.

“I do sell more than 66,000 litres of water every day. You can see it yourself. These amounts to two trailer tanks. Each is worth 32,000 litres but customers buy everything usually before 4 pm.  One of the two boreholes will continue serving them until 6:00pm. I resume here as early as 6am and close by 6pm,” he explained.

Hamza said he sells water to the vendors at numerous rates, depending on the kind of cuscus the customer uses. “The carts differ in capacity. I collect N30 from those with 12 jerry cans, N15 for 6 jerry cans and N10 for 4 jerry cans. Not less than 350 carts patronise me every day,” he revealed.

Water vendors popularly known as Mai ruwa, in Damaturu, are making brisk business. It has become a preoccupation engaging many unemployed adults who are alleviating their immediate community from the biting water scarcity and as well as have finding jobs for themselves. They found in every location in the town pushing heavy water carts.

Haruna Audu, a 25 year-old man, told Weekly Trust that joblessness pushed him into mai ruwa business and he would not celebrate if government provides adequate water in the town. He wakes up every day to queue up before dawn at a nearby bore hole, fills a set of 25 litre jerry cans at the rate of 30 naira before setting off going around the streets searching for customers.

“We join queue for water from this borehole before Subhi prayers and pay N30 per cuscus of 12 jerry cans. We then move around looking for customers in the town. Alhamdulillah, the business is paying me because my family feed from it and can even help others. With water scarcity in Damaturu, I found a job for myself,” he said

Abubakar Bello, 21, told Weekly Trust that his cousin invited him all the way from Bauchi to venture into the business and though a newcomer, he has familiarised himself with every nook and cranny of the town and even knows where the most profit margins come from.

“I always want to be among the first set to fetch water because everyone is rushing to reach Sabon Fegi and some areas where privileged people live. They normally buy the whole Cuscus at N120 or N100 without bargaining.” He narrated

Mohammed Saleh, an operator working at another borehole location in Damaturu, says  people come there to buy water from different  places, saying taste and purity of the water attract customers to his water point.

“CustomerS from Fumfamari, Hausari, Ajari and Sabon Fegi patronise me every day just to have a clean and tasteless water. We charge N35 per Cuscus as against other places that collect N30,” he said.

“A Cuscus of water from this borehole is sold at N150 at places like Gaidam Housing estate against 120 in other places, people always book for it,” a vendor confirmed.

Daniel Gbobo, a resident of Jerusalem for 10 years said he has lost confidence in government considering continued policies and huge amounts of money being spent every year on potable water yet without solving the problem.

A borehole supervisor who pleaded anonymity, told our reporter that even the so-called government boreholes in Damaturu were built through the efforts of Community Development Initiatives in collaboration with the Yobe State Poverty Reduction Programme.

“The immediate communities contributed 15% of the total cost while the state government took care of the remaining 85% “

Mohammad Auwal, a resident of Mamman Ali Housing Estate, lament how government is building estates in the town with no provision for potable water, “We don’t have pipe borne water in this area, though government has constructed boreholes without pipes to our houses. The least I spend on water daily  is N300. That is almost N12,000 monthly,” he decried. The story is the same in most of the housing estates our correspondent visited.

A reliable source at Yobe State Water Corporation told Weekly Trust that there is a collaborative arrangement entered into by the two tiers of government.

Federal government has done its own part by taking the project to an advanced stage leaving the state government with its own share of the job to salvage Damaturu from the perennial water shortage, but since then, the project has been neglected. All efforts to reach the Permanent Secretary to comment on the issue proved abortive.