•As AWDROP converge in Ibadan to stem COVID-19, cholera outbreak other infectious diseases
The Association of Water Well Drilling Rig Owners and Practitioners (AWDROP) penultimate week organized a three-day conference and Congress to tackle menace of Cholera and COVID-19 outbreak in the country through provision of clean and potable water.
The conference which hosted professionals and academia in water sector was organized to tackle COVID-19, Cholera and other infectious diseases presently ravaging the country.
At the three day conference, experts advised the borehole drillers to be wary of pollutants infiltrating into the ground waters which are dangerous to human health.
One of the participants, Dr. Auwah Yola Lawan from Kano State revealed indiscriminate drilling without considering right location as one way drillers are producing toxic waters.
According to him, a borehole was drilled in a graveyard of Kano metropolis and it resulted to serious endemic which killed many people in the area before solution was reached.
A guest lecturer and a dean of Students’ Affairs, Ajayi Crowther University, Dr. Rowland Anthony Isibor spoke on potential toxic elements in borehole water and their dangers to human health.
He made mention of toxic substances concentrated in groundwater otherwise known as borehole water while he called on drillers to be wary of the toxic substances to enhance the well-being of people consuming them.
According to him, these chemicals have different ways of infiltrating into underground waters and their ways into human bodies. The lecturer therefore tasked the drillers on how to avoid or remove the toxic substances from the underground waters and human system.
In his welcome address at the conference at Ilaji resort in Ibadan, the president of the association, Engr. Michael Ale maintained that the conference which is tagged “WASH and Infectious diseases (COVID-19 and Cholera)”, is organized to bring to the notice of stakeholders in Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), the ravaging and unannounced evil rubbishing the gains of WASH in Nigeria which is COVID-19 and importantly cholera diseases.
“We have this statistics that within the time Nigeria is bewildered by the advent of cholera insurgence, the WASH disease has spread to over 23 states, most all the Northern states including the state capital, Abuja.
“As at today, the problem of cholera has spread to Oyo State although not still confirmed by the Oyo State Government. Nigeria has recorded over 1,800 deaths since the advent of the cholera scourge and we as an association are concerned.
“AWDROP has observed gross inadequacy in the commitment shown by government to stem the unfortunate chaos ravaging the country water sector. We are putting together experts in the water sector to tackle this issue of water inadequacy head long as water seems to be the root cause of these infectious diseases.
“Speakers arranged are world class professionals and renowned experts in the WASH field”, Ale said.
Also in his keynote address, the professor of Applied Geophysics and Head, Department of Physics, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Professor Biodun Badmus maintained that professionals are needed in the drilling sector to provide needed clean and potable water.
He noted that borehole can sometimes contain dissolved minerals or contamination, saying water has to be tested by an accredited laboratory that gives a detailed report of the water.
“Well development after the drilling is part of the normal drilling procedure. All drilling methods alter the hydraulic characteristics of formation materials in the vicinity of the borehole”, Badmus revealed.
He also stated that water is valuable natural resource that is in different forms in the environment saying ” understanding water cycle within the environment is necessary to manage it effectively.
According to him, fresh water is finite and vulnerable, saying supplying sufficient clean, fresh water is one of the most vital natural resource issues facing humanity.
Corroborating him, the honourable minister of state for Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Mustapha Baba Sheuri maintained that AWDROP is held in high esteem as there can be no Nation without food and since food production is not possible without water, the association is holding a key position in the water value chain plan of the federal ministry.
He added “the theme of this conference ‘WASH and COVID-19 the 21st century perspective’ is just perfect for the times and season we are in right now as community transmission of Corona Virus rises and lockdown measures are being eased in the country. We have been warned as a nation by the International Charity Wateraid, that unless we have improved access to clean water and good hygiene practices by the citizenry, Nigeria may not be able to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The forgoing further gives credence to the importance of your body (AWDROP) in the scheme of the federal government’s plan”, the minster said.
