In Bakiyawa community, Batagarawa LGA, Katsina state, residents have been totally abandoned by the government. The primary health centre is in shambles. The community secondary school is dilapidated, there’s no clean water for drinking and cooking, and the roads are bad.
When Tracka visited the PHC, the health worker took us around the building, especially the delivery room where the roofs were torn and caving in. The facility serves over 3,000 residents but has only one permanent staff and one auxiliary staff.
“We are really suffering in this place. Anytime my children are sick, we have to use herbs or go to the shops selling drugs. I can’t even advise my enemy to go to the health centre. Go there and see for yourself.” said Aminatu, a villager.
The outpatient section of the facility is where patients get treatment because not all parts of the roof are torn and it has two benches.
School without roofs –
Government Secondary School, Bakiyawa, has a block of three classrooms without roofs. The school has only four teachers to cater to over 300 students.
The SS3 students had to write their SSCE exams in other schools in nearby communities due to a lack of hall, desks and chairs.
“The condition of the school has affected the children’s performance badly. Before, we used to beg the parents every new term to send their children to school, but now they don’t answer us again because who will send their child there? Even the children don’t want to go again.” said Dangaladiman Barden Katsina, the village head.
There are no roofs in many classrooms, no windows, and no furniture. Hence, the school automatically closes whenever it rains, and rainy seasons are additional holiday seasons.
Unclean Water
The only source of water in the community is a dirty river. The residents have no choice but to cook and drink with the water. Fortunately, there is a N50m project for constructing an earthen dam in Barawa and Bakiyawa communities under 2021 Federal Consolidated projects and the project has commenced.
We held a sensitization meeting with the community members to inform them about this project and engage their elected representatives to ensure its implementation. At the meeting, they lamented the situation of several other amenities not working in the community.
“We don’t have any choice but to use this water because the closest hand pump borehole is over 12km away. The water is bad and sometimes makes our people sick, but this is our fate.” Muh’d, a farmer told Tracka.
A youth leader in the community who pleaded anonymity spoke about his arrest because he was advocating for repairing the bad roads affecting their income.
“I was arrested and detained by the police recently for mobilizing people and preventing local government officials from collecting revenue during the market days because they have ignored our cries. After I was released, some parts of the road were patched, and the major parts remain abandoned.” he told Tracka.
This community lacks all the basic amenities required to survive. Therefore we urge Governor Aminu Bello Masari and relevant stakeholders to renovate their health facility and school, provide a clean water source, and repair the bad roads. We also call on Hon. Tukur Iliyasu Shagumba, Hon Hamza Dalhatu, and Senator Kabir Abdullahi Barkiya to intervene and solve these issues.
Story by Ayomide Ladipo and Mustapha Saddiq
