ASSESSMENT OF WATER POVERTY IN MINNA, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

Water is explicitly linked with economic progress and developmental trajectories of most countries and regions of the world. However, inspite of its significant contribution to quality of life, public health and socio-economic development, water scarcity has continuously remained one of the most excruciating problems around the globe. In view of the disproportionate nature of water scarcity, both  in space and time, coupled with urban population growth dynamics this thesis assesses the level of water stress at household and neighbourhood level in Minna urban, Nigeria within the framework of water poverty methodology, with a view to identify the priority areas requiring policy interventions. By utilizing cluster sampling technique, data on household water sources, water stress features and adaptation measures were obtained through questionnaire administered on 378 households in 8 selected neighbourhoods in the study area. These were complemented with data from the Niger State Water and Sewerage Corporation (NSWSC) on public water supply network in the study area. The data were analysed using descriptive (frequency and percentage) and inferential statistics (ANOVA, cross-tabulation, linear scaling technique, correlation, principal component analysis and independent T-Test). Findings from the study revealed that households in the study area are characterized by low level of access to public water supply and rely on other informal non-network water sources to augment improved water source. The empirical findings also indicated that water poverty levels vary among the neighbourhoods in the study area and manifest in spatial terms with Tudun wada south neighbourhood exhibiting the best water situation while F-Layout has the worst water situation. The study further revealed that storage of water in drums (100 liters and above), rain water harvest and installation of storage tanks were the three (3) top ranked most effective household adaptive strategies in coping with water poverty in the study area. As a recommendation, policy makers as a matter of priority should  give first level priority attention to improving water use across all the neighbourhoods in the study area.  This is followed by accessibility to water, which requires second level priority in term of water improvement in F-Layout, Kpakungu, Maitumbi, Saukakahuta and Tudun-Fulani. Resource is the third priority area for attention and would be advantageous to F-Layout, Saukakahuta and Tudun-Fulani.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0      INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the Study

It has been widely acknowledged that water is explicitly linked with economic progress and developmental trajectories of most countries and regions of the world. It has remained a top priority on international  agenda and merits public policy consideration.  Several policy initiatives have been developed over time to address water crisis at the global, regional and country level. Among these initiatives are: United Nations Water for Life Decade 1981-1990; The Dublin Principles of 1991; UNCED Rio Declaration 1992 on Agenda 21; International Hydrological Programme (2014-2021); Cooperation in International Waters in Africa (CIWA); African Water Facility (AWF); Sustainable Development Goal 6; the New Water Law of South Africa as well as the National Water Supply and Sanitation Policy (2000) in Nigeria). Despite these laudable initiatives, and the significant contribution of water to quality of life, public health and socio-economic development (Agnew and Woodhouse, 2011; Hanjra et al., 2009; Ishaku et al., 2011; Jimenez-Cisneros et al., 2014; Rockstrum and Falkenmark, 2015), water scarcity has continuously remained one of the most excruciating problems around the globe.

The Global Risks Report of the World Economic Forum identified water crisis as one of the top five high impact risks bedeviling human society in current times (World Economic Forum, 2017). For example, between 1.5 and 2.5 billion people in world were estimated to have lived under some degree of water scarcity around the year 2000 (Alcamo et al., 2007; Kummu et al., 2010; Gosling and Arnell, 2016; Kummu et al., 2016), and it is projected that by year 2025, about 1.8 billion people will reside in countries with absolute water scarcity, with two-third of the world’s population likely to live under water-stressed conditions by the year 2040 (UN-Water and FAO, 2007; Reigh et al., 2013; Liu et al., 2015). The United Nations General Assembly acknowledged the human right to safe and accessible water on a sustainable basis. The absence of such right to water erodes human dignity and signifies water scarcity and water poverty (SADC, 2008; Sanusi, 2010; Naiga et al., 2015). In recognition of water scarcity as a form of human deprivation, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.4  aspires to  significantly reduce the proportion of people suffering from water scarcity by 2030.

While water scarcity is a global concern, it remains pervasive in Africa – a continent with over 800 million people. It has been observed that 54% of the entire continent is arid, and over 300 million of its inhabitants are living in water scarce environments (Rached et al., 1996; NEPAD, 2006; Akpor and Muchie, 2011). More than 2⁄3 of African households (especially women and children who are considered vulnerable) are also considered “water poor” as they trekked over 1 hour from their home per water collection trip to fetch water for consumption purposes (Montgomery and Elimelech, 2009; Sorenson et al., 2011; Pickering and Davies, 2012). Evidence has further shown that only 58% of African dwellers have access to improved water sources, and these levels are declining in many cities (World Bank, 2014a; World Bank, 2014b). The unbalanced nature of water scarcity in African countries is also worrisome, as regional disparities exist in terms of water supply and distribution. The WHO-UNICEF (2010) for instance, identified water scarcity to be more pronounced in Sub- Saharan region relative to other regions in Africa, with piped water into dwellings, plots or yards declining between 1990 and 2008 from 43% to 35% in urban areas.

As a nation in Africa, Nigeria with over 180 million inhabitants, also suffers from acute water supply. This dimension of water scarcity is alarming and has been well documented. For example, Nigerians represent one in every ten persons in the world who suffers from unimproved water supply (WHO-UNICEF/JMP, 2017; MICS, 2017). The Wash-Norm survey (2018) conducted by the Federal Government of Nigeria in conjunction with the National Bureau of Statistics reported that between 2000 and 2017, only 21% of Nigerian population had access to drinking water from improved source, provided collection time is not more than 30 minutes for a round trip including queuing. Progress in access to improved water supply in Nigeria has been on the decline for nearly two decades, with access to reliable water sources in Nigeria’s urban centres dropping from 78% in 1990 to barely 64% in 2017 (WHO-UNICEF/JMP, 2017; MICS, 2017).  Given the ever-increasing population growth of the country at 3.8% (NPC, 2006) the constant growing demand for water is bound to outstrip water availability in the near future. It has therefore been envisaged that if this current situation remains unabated, only 15-20% of urban residents in Nigeria will be able to enjoy direct water supply in their residence by the year 2025 (Macheve et al., 2015).

Against the background of the disproportionate nature of water scarcity, both in space and time, coupled with urban population growth dynamics, it is important to assess the extent to which urban households are water stressed at both household and neighbourhood scale. Any effort geared towards alleviating water poverty largely depends on adequate evidence on the extent of water stress at such smallest scale of analysis, to provide the pathway for appropriate water policy interventions. This is the focal point of this thesis: to assess the level of water stress at household and neighbourhood level in Minna, Nigeria within the framework of water poverty methodology.

In linking water stress to the related poverty at household and neighbourhood level, the water poverty assessment framework beyond other assessment metrics has been progressively recognized as a robust quantitative and monitoring tool (Sullivan, 2002; Sullivan et al., 2003; Sullivan, et al., 2006; Damkjaer and Taylor, 2017) for providing new insight into the complexities of water issues, by integrating the concept of environmental sustainability and social adaptive capacity with different physical and economic drivers of water scarcity (Garriga and Foguet, 2010; Sullivan and Jemmali, 2014; Hung et al., 2017).

1.2       Statement of the Research Problem

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS, 2006) survey has shown that improved water coverage in Nigeria range from 30.7% to 73.5%, and significantly varies  between the northern and southern regions. However, these limits are way outside the target of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.1 which requires extending the improved water coverage by 100% to currently un-served population with a focus on equitable access, quality and sustainable water by the year 2030.

This limited water coverage is also characterized by low levels of access, intermittent and poor quality of water supply services especially in urban centres (Akpor and Muchie, 2011). While urban residents who are outside the reach of public water coverage are “de-watered”, their water needs are exclusively in form of informal non-network delivery service. The low coverage of public water supply also shifts the burden of safe and reliable water supply to virtually all urban households, who consequently engage in a variety of strategies to cope with the lack of access to water supply. As rightly noted by Macheve et al. (2015) the cost of coping with lack and unreliable water supplies to Nigerian households is estimated at US700 million dollars on yearly basis. It is therefore not surprising that only a dismal 3.7% of 185 million Nigerians had improved water sources in their premises which are free from fecal and chemical contamination (WASH Poverty Diagnostics, 2016; MICS, 2017; WASH- NORM, 2018).

Households’ lack of access to water supply has also been aggravated by non-functionality and sustainability issues. In this regard, the National Water Supply and Sanitation Survey in 2015 noted that approximately 38% of improved water facilities and 46% of all water schemes are non- functional in Nigeria. The magnitude and complexity of the low water coverage, poor access and non-functionality of water points is far more biting among urban households in Nigeria’s urban centres, with State Water Agencies (SWAs) lacking the capacity to cater for their growing water needs, including those of the more than 2 million new residents urbanization brings to the cities on yearly basis (Macheve et al., 2015).

In  view of the fore  goings,  prior research  has  empirically linked  the extent to  which households are water stressed to the related level of poverty at local and community level by utilizing the water poverty framework. Useful evidence of these international studies conducted at local and commune level include: Cullis and O’Regan, (2004) in South Africa, Sullivan et al., (2003) and Sullivan et al., (2006) both in South Africa, Sri Lanka and Tanzania as well as Zahra et al. (2012) in India. In the Nigerian context, notable contributions to this strand of research are scarce and location-specific. The empirical study by Ifabiyi et al. (2020), Ifabiyi and Ogunbode (2014) in Oyo state, Ahuchaogu et al. (2015) in Akwa- Ibom state, and Yahaya et al. (2009) in Ondo state are representative articles that have applied the water poverty index to investigate water stress at Local Government Areas (LGAs) as case studies. While the overall water poverty index derived from such empirical investigation significantly hides the actual poverty levels experienced in from such studies due to spatial temporal variations of water scarcity drivers (Cullis and O’Regan, 2004; Gine and Perez- Foguet, 2009), the present thesis departs from these prior studies by its application of the water poverty index in providing useful insights into the level of water stress at both household and neighbourhood scale in a different geographical area. This is the research gap which this current thesis attempts to address.

1.3     Research Questions

The main research questions which are specifically dealt with in this thesis are:

I.         What is the extent of public water supply coverage in Minna?

II.        What is the pattern of water delivery sources available to households across different neighborhoods in the study area?

III.       To what extent can neighborhoods in the study area be considered to be water stressed/ poor?

IV.      In terms of water poverty, how do neighborhoods around the public mains compare with those outside?

V.        How do households cope with the problem of water poverty?

1.4     Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of this study is to assess the level of water poverty at a neighbourhood scale in Minna with a view to identify priority areas requiring policy interventions.

The objectives of the study were to:

I.          Examine the area coverage of public water supply in Minna.

II.         Assess household’s sources of water supply across different neighbourhoods in the study area.

III.       Determine the level of water poverty in the study area.

IV.      Compare  water  poverty  in  neighbourhoods  within  the  public  mains  with  those neighborhoods outside the public mains.

V.        Assess households’ adaptation to water poverty in the study area.

1.5    Research Hypothesis

The research hypotheses considered relevant to the purpose of achieving the objectives of this thesis are:

I.        Null Hypothesis (Ho1): There is no statistically significant variation between households’ source of water supply for drinking purpose and domestic use in the study area.

II.        Null Hypothesis (Ho2): There is no statistically significant  difference  in water poverty level of neighbourhoods within the public water mains and those neighborhoods partly outside the public water mains.

1.6   Scope of the Study

Geographically, this study is limited to urban households residing in four (4) neighbourhoods located within the public water supply mains and four (4) neighbourhoods partly outside the public water supply mains in the four regions (north, south, east and west) of the city. In total, eight (8) neighbourhoods were sampled with two (2) neighbourhoods (comprising 1 neighbourhood within and 1 neighbourhood partly outside the public water mains) each selected from the north, south, east and western part of Minna city. The study applied water poverty index to measure the multidimensional nature of water poverty situations in the selected eight (8) neighbourhoods and also addressed the following critical issues in the study area:

I.      Extent of public water main coverage in terms of improved water supply provided by the State Water Agency (Niger State Water Board) to households in these neighbourhoods.

II.      Households’ water sources (both improved and unimproved sources) for drinking purpose and domestic use (such as pipe water to dwelling/compound, shared pipe water connection with neighbour, public covered borehole, private covered dug well, unprotected dug well, rain water harvest, water truck, private water vendor, pond and lake, dam, digging of deep well, ground water extraction, bottled and sachet water).

III.      Water stress features at the household level (such as water sufficiency/availability status, number of trips to water point, water collection time, waiting time for water fetching, water fetching responsibility, perceived rainfall pattern, seasonal variation in public water supply, water treatment method and coping costs).

IV.      Households’ adaptation measures to water stress/poverty focusing on measures such as water storage in drum and container, installation of water tank, rain water harvest, use of booster pump, use of water sparingly, water collection from different locations, water collection from shared connection/from neighbor, protest to water authorities, relocation to areas with water supply, rescheduling activities till  when water is available.

1.7    Justification for the Study

The significant contribution of water resources to socio-economic development, public health and quality of life implies that issues pertaining to its volumetric availability, accessibility and withdrawal merit public policy consideration. Various water scarcity metrics such as water stress index (Falkenmark, 1989), criticality ratio (Raskin et al., 1997; Vorosmarty et al., 2000; Alcamo et al., 2003), IWMI indicator (Seckler et al., 1998a; Molden et al., 2007) and the water poverty index (Sullivan, 2002, Sullivan et al., 2003) have established that global water resources are extremely stressed, and that given the rapid growth in human population, water resources will need to be effectively managed on a sustainable basis. In view of this, an in-depth study of this magnitude can provide a quantitative assessment evidence of water scarcity challenge necessary for water policy planning, benchmarking and performance monitoring.

Such evidence can aid policy makers in effectively identifying specific areas of activities which could reduce existing water stress, and target households and neighbourhoods with the highest levels of poverty in terms of prioritization of interventions to address specific water deprivations. Aside its contribution to the existing vast body of literature on the linkage between water and poverty, the empirical findings from the current study can stimulate households’ understanding of the complexity of the water problems and beyond the conventional approach, the pragmatic ways to address water scarcity in a sustainable manner.

1.8       Profile of the Study Area

The study area can be described in terms of its geographical description, water bodies, climate and ecology, population and economic base as follows.

1.8.1    Geographical description and location

The city of Minna acts as both the state and administrative capital of Niger state in Nigeria, and covers an approximate land mass of 88 km2. It lies on latitude 90 25’ N and 90 40’ N of the equator and longitude 60  24’ E and 60 36’ E of the meridian (Figure 1.1). In terms of regional location, the city is located in the North-Central geopolitical zone of Nigeria and provides the gateway to the northern and southern part of Nigeria. Geographically, it is located apart from other bordering cities. By roads, Minna is approximately 112km apart from FCT, 300km from Kaduna, 90km from Bida and 100km to Suleja (Sanusi, 2006).

The geomorphology of the city is characterized by undifferentiated basement of many complex of gneiss and magnetite. The city lies on a highland with major elevations within the city ranging from 240m – 270m, though the highest level of elevation in the city is 443m which corresponds to Paida hill (Sanusi, 2006). The city is topographically diverse, with a range of steep hills stretching from north eastern part of Minna westwardly towards Bosso and Tudu-Fulani neighbourhoods and some pockets of rock outcrops within the flat and developable area of the city. This freezes land supply, hence limiting residential developments to the southeast and southwest part of Chanchaga and Kpakungu corridors respectively. The city is segmented into 29 neighbourhoods, which serve as the basis of the unit of analysis in this study (Figure 1.2).

1.8.2    Water resources/bodies and drainage channels

Freshwater availability and run-off in the city take the form of river Chanchaga, Tagwai, Suka and their tributaries. In the south east part of the city is river Chanchaga which takes its source from the north central highlands and thereafter flowing to meet river Kaduna at a point south west of Minna. The major tributaries of river Chanchaga are: rivers Wana, Shaho, Godina and Dunalape, which flow from their respective highlands and isolated areas such as Gwam, Kpewi, Zuru and Tsauran Nabi hills (Dalil et al., 2015). The lower part of the city is slice up by river Suka and its tributaries providing flood plains for rice cultivation (Sanusi, 2006).

The city is however drained by many drainage channels with a major drainage outlet fed by other secondary drainages, flowing from the centre of the city towards the southwest part and outskirt of the city.

The hydro-geological structure of the city depicts that the depth of water table in the underlying crystalline basement complex  of  gneiss and magnetite, lies  on the average between 3m -15m (Offodile, 2002). The mean yield of borehole in this aquifer is estimated between 0.75 litres – 1.80 litres per second, at an average depth of 37.30m (Davis and de- Weist, 1970).

1.8.3     Climate and ecology

Minna city falls within the temperate humid and is located within the hinterland and the Guinea savannah zone of Nigeria (north and the sub-equatorial south climate regions) based on koppen classification scheme (Simon et al., 2018). Consequently, it has an average monthly temperature that varies significantly, with peak temperature between 400C – 420C around the months of February and March, and the lowest in August at 330C. Minimum temperature levels below 300C occur during harmattan periods, usually in December and January of the next year (Dalil et al., 2015). Minna city received an annual mean precipitation level of 1300 mm and is characterized by a bimodal rainfall distribution which peaks at 300mm in September. With an annual rainfall of 1334mm (Abubakar, 2017), the rainy season commences in the month of May and ends around October, while the dry season lasts from October to March. The variability and decline in rainfall during the dry season will however form an integral part of water assessment framework employed in this study.

1.8.4    Population and demographics

Minna city is home to approximately 541,672 inhabitants of heterogeneous ethnic and religion background. This figure is based on the projection of the 2006 population and housing census at 2.6% annual population growth rate (National Population Commission, 2020). Between 50% – 57% of the population are male with 17.1% – 54.1% of the total population being unable to read and write in English language (Niger State Bureau of Statistics, 2014). With a land mass of 88km2, the population density of the city which covers both Bosso and Chanchaga local government areas is around 6155 persons per km2. The average size of households in Minna city is 8 persons and coincides with the average household size for Niger state (Niger State Bureau of Statistics, 2014).

The source of drinking water available to these households is characterized by both improved and unimproved water supply. Based on the socioeconomic survey conducted by Niger State Bureau of Statistic (2014) across the state, the proportion of households who used improved and unimproved water for drinking in Minna is provided in Table 1.1.

The neighbourhoods in the study area are located within the two LGAs. Source: Niger State Bureau of Statistics Socioeconomic Survey (2014)

As shown in Table 1.1, it is apparent that the percentage of households with access to treated drinking water in the study area is above the State average. More so, a small proportion of the households has access to safe drinking water, with most residents depending mainly on other secondary water delivery mechanisms such as boreholes, wells, rivers and water vendors.

1.8.5    Economic base and development

The city of Minna has a diverse economic base which contributes to its economic growth and development. Though, the city was initially a largely agrarian economy, the rail line construction by the colonialists provided the impetus for the economic development of the city. Aside the creation of Niger state in 1976 with its state capital in Minna, notable developments which further boast the economy of the city includes: the construction of an aerodrome in 1929, Bosso dam in 1947, Chanchaga dam in 1978 and electricity supply in 1962. These physical developments increased the industrialization of the city and provide a veritable source of employment opportunities to the inhabitants of the city.

With an unprecedented rapid population at 7.9% annual growth rate which was far above the national growth rate of 2.83% in Nigeria between 1991 and 2002, the city became more urbanized with increase in its administrative ward, built-up areas, trading, informal activities (weaving, traditional manufacturing and restaurant services), public sector and professional services (Sanusi, 2006). Presently, the city has an array of services impacting on its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This includes: educational institutions, federal and state civil service, private sector, financial services, agriculture and agro-allied industries.

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