Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, is widely known for its display of infrastructure and urban settlement, sprawling amid government edifices and opulence. However, once you leave the comfortable embrace of the city centre, you are thrust into a cocoon of communities without access to basic amenities.
Tracka visited the Ikeh Bassa community in Kwali Area Council, FCT, and discovered that they have been denied basic social amenities for over 30 years. There is no nearby hospital, school, or good road. The major problem now is that people don’t have access to clean water.
The only water source is a stream that produces a muddy liquid called water. The community head lamented bitterly on how they have been enduring this challenge for decades without intervention from the government.
“Our women have to use unclean water like that to cooking and wash. We have to boil it first before we drink. We have lost many children due to water diseases. In the past two years alone, we lost five of our children.” he said
Hassan, a community member, spoke about how the lack of water has led to inter-tribal fights.
“In 2021, we lost our senior brother. The Fulanis came here and brought their cattle to drink from our only water source. When my brother saw it, he picked a quarrel with them and everything scattered. They started fighting. He got badly injured. We rushed him to the nearest hospital, over 20km away, and he died before we could get there.” he narrated.
Mrs Kauna, a trader, narrated how women have to go through hurdles just to be able to fetch unclean water.
“Every day, I have to wake up at 4 am with my daughter, who is schooling at Kwaita, so that she can meet up early with classes after fetching water, but they still come back every day to complain about being flogged for coming late.
We have been using the water like that. Sometimes we have to cook the water and add alum into it to make it clean, sometimes my children complained of stomach pains and other sicknesses,” she told Tracka.
The people of Ikeh Bassa have written letters to government stakeholders, most recently in 2022, to come to their aid, but nothing has been done.
We urge Hon Danladi Chiya, the Chairman of Kwali Area Council; Hon- Elect Abdulrahman Ajiya, representing Abuja South Federal Constituency, Senator-Elect Ireti Kingibe, representing FCT Abuja; and FCT Minister of State Ramatu Tijani Aliyu, to urgently provide clean water, basic education and primary healthcare to residents of Ikeh Bassa to alleviate their long-standing suffering.
Story by Garba Abdullahi and Ayomide Ladipo
