Water scarcity fueling crisis in my domain, FCT chief raises alarm

The Village Head of Rafin-Daji community in Gurdi Ward, Abaji Area Council of the FCT, Malam Yakubu Danjuma, has raised an alarm over acute water shortage in his community.

The monarch revealed that the shortage is causing frequent friction between husbands and wives, forcing him to regularly mediate domestic disputes.

“I cannot count how many times women have come to the palace reporting that their husbands are quarreling with them over bath water,” the Chief explained. “I have to plead with the husbands to be patient and recognize that their wives wake up in the early hours of the morning just to search for water.”

Women of the Rafin-Daji community echoed the Chief’s concerns, lamenting that the lack of pipe-borne water has been their greatest challenge for years.

During a visit by Abuja Metro on Saturday, residents explained that when local streams dry up during the dry season, they are forced to rely on stagnant ponds or trek long distances for domestic use.

Mrs. Laraba Audu, a housewife, told our reporter that she wakes up as early as 3:00 am alongside her two daughters to trek to a dry stream bed.

“We have to dig into the sand just to find water,” she said. “When my husband returns from the farm and there is no water to bathe, he gets very angry. Sometimes he just has to wash his hands and feet and go to sleep frustrated.”

Another resident, Mrs. Sarah Ayuba, added that she treks to fadama (marshland) farms with her children to fetch water.

“I have to apply alum and wait for the sediment to settle before it is clear enough for my family to drink. This problem affects nearly 80 percent of homes here,” she lamented.

A community elder, Mr. Nuhu Adamu, noted that the crisis also affects the neighboring village of Unguwar Yunusa.

He revealed that the two hand-pump boreholes in the community have been broken for years.

“Two years ago, we contributed money to fix one of the boreholes, but it broke down again shortly after,” Adamu said. He added that several formal letters written to the council authorities requesting repairs have yielded no results.

The village head lamented that despite the community’s consistent support for the government during elections, they have seen little “dividend of democracy” in the form of infrastructure.

The crisis in Rafin-Daji extends beyond water to the local education system.

Chief Danjuma pointed out that the classrooms at the local LEA Primary School are in a state of total collapse, forcing children to learn under trees.

Ibrahim Saleh, the PTA Chairman, added that teachers posted to the school have been absent for over two years.

“They claim it is because of insecurity, even though the security situation in this axis, which borders Niger State, has significantly improved. Our children are now going to the farm instead of school,” Saleh said.

Reacting to these complaints, an official from the Council’s Works Department stated that the Council Chairman had visited the community during a campaign tour in December.

“The Chairman assured the villagers that the two broken boreholes would be fixed and an additional solar-powered borehole would be provided. This has been captured in the budget,” the source said. The official also noted that the classroom renovations are in the budget and that the Chairman has ordered an investigation into the teachers’ prolonged absence.

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