2.2 Indigenous Knowledge Practices and Water Management
2.2.2 Potable Water and Indigenous Knowledge Practices
In the global or developed countries, the importance of potable water supply and management systems has been a subject of serious attention which is reflected in the measurement of human developments and their inclusion in the Sustainable Developments Goals. The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and all other laws give the federal government authority over communal water resources, large dams and the formulation and implementation of policies for overall water resources management. However, potable water provision and supply is now a state responsibility. Therefore, all 36 states have their own State Water Agencies (SWAs) to manage and operate systems for water service delivery in all urban areas and in some rural areas.
Generally, the SWAs in Nigeria have failed to provide water services to the various communities in their provinces. Ezeabasili et al. (2014: 35-54), according to the figures in the National Policy on Water and Sanitation (2000), argued that only “46% of the populace in Nigeria has access to safe drinking water, with coverage around 50% in urban areas”. Therefore, the percentage of the total population with access to water for drinking, washing and essential household activities is measured by the number of people who have reasonable means of getting an adequate amount of water that is safe. In this way, the health of communities and the country can be determined, which is a reflection of the country’s capacity to collect, clean, manage and allocate water to
consumers. Potable or safe water is categorised as treated surface water from sources like streams, rivers, wells and springs (see WBG 2002).
There are four main hydrological basins covering the far low‐lying swamp forest to the south of Nigeria; the flat dense rainforest; hilly shrub lands in the middle belt; relatively flat savannah grasslands in the north, and semi‐arid areas in the far north (Ojiako 2000, 64-67 and Ezeabasili et al. 2014, 35-54). The central part of the country is dominated by crystalline rock outcroppings and gently rolling hills. Nigeria experiences an average rainfall varying between 250mm per year in the northern part (occurring mostly around April and September) to a potential peak of 4000mm per year in the southern part (occurring mostly around March through October).
The country has two major river systems, namely the River Niger (entering the country from the northwest) and the River Benue (entering from the northeast) (see Ajibade 2003, 113). The two rivers meet at Lokoja then move southerly into an extensive delta before discharging into the Atlantic Ocean, while other rivers flow directly into the ocean or Lake Chad. Northern rivers in Nigeria are irregular, the water of which is dependent on seasons. Most of the rivers in the southern part are perennial, flowing throughout the year and serving as a great source of potable water. “Nigeria’s surface water resources are estimated to be about 267 billion m3 /annum while its groundwater resource is estimated at about 52 billion m3 of groundwater potential” (Ojiako 2000, 64-67). While only 15% of the surface water has been utilised (see ADB 2007), statistics on the actual amount of groundwater utilisation are, however, not available. Potable water commonly fetched from groundwater resources (which come in the form of boreholes and hand- dug wells) and have become the most important sources of public and private water in urban and rural areas. However, the boreholes have disappeared from the rural areas, while there are still a few in some urban areas. Most rural communities in Nigeria now depend on self-efforts to meet their daily drinking water challenges. Daily water supplies either come from the natural sources
(rivers/streams, ponds, rain and hand‐dug wells) or modern supply sources (public sector supplies or private and commercial borehole businesses), while over 80% of the rural population, which comprises of poor men and women, depends on the natural water sources for supplies of potable water that are not even safe for drinking (Akpabio, Udo and Etuk 2005, 222-227;
Nwokolo and Ogbulezie 2017, 49-59).
Hence, the management of unclean water is of immense concern, particularly in the rural areas.
Potable water, which can reduce the burden of water provision on women and girl children thereby increasing their efficiency measures that in the end will reduce health-care costs, are either scarce or not available. Aromolaran (2013, 631) argues that potable water can be achieved and be made easily available in the rural areas, and this can be done well, without ‘modern chemicals’ which are not affordable, by intensifying indigenous practices. Indigenous approaches, like the use of Moringa oleifera and other local practices, are considered the cost- effective and safe. Moringa seeds have been used successfully and traditionally to make clear, highly turbid water with 90-99 per cent of the bacteria removed from streams or river water, making it safe for drinking in place of the regular materials like chlorine and alum, which are not available for the rural dwellers (Sajidu et al. 2005, 251).
In the damper parts of Africa and parts of Yorubaland10 in south-west Nigeria, apart from the use of Moringa and plant parts, the use of earthen11 pots by women is not only a traditional alternative to the steel, glass and plastic containers, but is also a healthy one. These are placed inside the rural homes for cooling, keeping a proper pH12 balance and it is believed among these communities that they make dirt in water to settle faster. In rural Ibadan in the south-western part
10This is one of the regions in Nigeria where the Yoruba language is used.
11Clay
12This is the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a solution/water.
of Nigeria, Adenopus breviflorus or Tagiri13 (in Yoruba) is usually placed beside the household earthen pot in the dry season to ward off evil spirits and ‘germs’ that cause measles (see IDRC 2002). Moreover, in Ondo most of the villages have spring water believed to be from Yemoja14 which is very clean and has also been a source of healing for sick children. Other empirical investigations by researchers (Adewunmi et al. 2001, 19-24) include the use of “pot chlorination, solar disinfection, simple sand filters, nylon filters, harvesting of groundwater and recharging of groundwater”. Pot chlorination is an indigenous technology that has also been recommended for use in rural areas because of its affordability and flexibility in usage. Shittu et al. (2008, 285- 290) and Ishaku et al. (2011, 598-606) argue that one method of chlorination that can be used in village wells involves a pot containing a mixture of coarse sand and bleaching powder, which is hung underwater in a well. The double pot is suitable for a well serving up to 20 people and needs to be refilled with 1 kg of bleach and 2 kg of sand every two weeks.
Until recently, water management has been concerned with health consequences, gender and irrigation, water rights and safety, or economic value (see Agarwal 1992, 374-378; Hope et al.
2003, 94-110; Arriens and Alejandrino, 2004). According to Bhadra and Bhaskar Singh (2003, 93-109), Elmhirst and Resurreccion (2008) and Singh (2008, 925-942), gender issues in indigenous water management have not been addressed widely by scholars. Nevertheless, indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) from an African standpoint have been used in the management of water and natural resources, which are mostly transferred using verbal traditions from generation to generation with a close link to the broader framework of people’s cosmology and world view that is entrenched within the physical, spiritual and social landscape of each community (see Hirsch and O’Hanlon 1995). Bernard (2004, 148-153) further argues that water
13Plant part
14Yemoja is the African goddess of the ocean and the patron deity of pregnant women who is also honoured not only in Africa but also in Brazil. She gave birth to all the water, salt and fresh, and is the creator goddess of the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria.
is not only of “social and economic importance, but also of cultural and spiritual significance”, which it is also largely dependent on. Due to the very low or total lack of potable water in most rural areas in Nigeria, especially in Ondo which is one of the coastal states, rural dwellers are largely dependent on ‘surface runoff’ such as streams, rivers, ponds and vulnerable wells (Shittu et al. 2008, 285-290), which is the only water source that is available for domestic use and other activities. However, these water sources are contaminated from different materials, including effluents from industries, abattoir activities and pesticides, and animal and human faecal discharges into surface and ground waters due to washing by rainfall water. Hence, the prevalence of waterborne diseases such as typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery (often observed in the villages) can be due to water fetched from these sources (Ishaku et al. 2011, 598-606) causing an exceptional “menace to health, economic productivity and reduction in the quality of life” of the people.