Femi Mustapha
Kaduna State Water Corporation
(KADSWAC) is to partner Africa Media Development Foundation(AMDF) in a campaign on the value of water as a mitigate to climate change.
The Executive Director of AMDF, Iliya Kure who led some members of AMDF and journalists to the headquarters of KADSWAC said,
already about 65 per cent of Kaduna residents living in the semi-urban and urban settings are experiencing dry zone in terms of public water supply, making life unbearable for them, and their animals and even to do irrigation farming during the dry season usually between October and April.
He said in view of this, AMDF is seeking professional partnership with the corporation on a workable approach to mitigating climate changes as it affects public water supply.
According to Kure, journalists who are in the business of information gathering, processing and dissemination need to get accurate data on technical areas like climate change to enable them to disseminate the same to the public – using their professional skills.
To AMDF, “the earth’s climate has always changed, but because of human activity, it is now changing faster than it has for thousands of years. This climate change is here to stay, and it will affect all of our lives and nearly every aspect of society, from our health and food supplies to business and national economies”.
Managing Director and Chief Executive of KADSWAC, Sanusih Maikudi, expressed the readiness of his corporation to partner with the civil society group, especially in the areas of advocacy and awareness around water use and management in the state.
‘We are very happy that you and your team are here. We hope that after our engagement, something beneficial would be formulated and actualised,’ he stated.
‘I have committed myself to being an active citizen because a lot of our people are sleeping. Now we are in a very deep mess because a lot of citizens are folding their arms saying it is not their responsibility. But, the active ones are up and doing.
‘There is a government in place with roles and responsibilities. There is an organised private sector that is operating within the political domain, making enterprise. We then have people who out of passion and conviction, see what is not normal and then they organised themselves into non-government organisations and become active citizens to see how to correct that wrong.
‘Now, if we look at the element of the environment, we have the land, the air and all that and once these are damaged, humanity is doomed. Our survival depends on the quality of soil, air and water we have. We are going to be working with you and we can collaborate in the area of preaching the value of water to our people.
‘A lot of people think they can go to the river, see the water in the river and dump their refuse there. So we should let them know in case they don’t know that any toxic waste we put in river Kaduna, we are polluting the water for our people in the Niger Delta because River Kaduna flows through Niger, Kogi and Anambra into the Niger Delta. So, we need to intensify the campaign on understanding and appreciating the value of water,’ he said.
