PROBLEMS OF WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION IN KPAKUNGU AREA OF MINNA (NIGERIA)

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INTRODUCTION
Water is life: adequate supply of water is central to
life and civilization. The five basic human needs namely
air, water, food, light, and heat. Water is common factor
to other four. It is therefore not an understatement to say
water is life, because it forms an appreciable proportion of
all living things including man. In fact, water is very criti-
cal to human life. Water constitutes about 80% of animal
cells. The human body by weight consists of about 70% water and several body functions depend on water (Hu-
man development report 2006).
According to the popular Nigerian musician Fela Kuti
who in his song “water no get enemy” reiterated that all
human activities cling on water and that man will go to
any length to search for water in times of scarcity and this
has proven the slogan “water is life” right. In the third
world countries of the world with Nigeria inclusive, the
problem of portable water supply in slum area (Kpakungu,
Niger State) have poised a lot of challenges with task of
collecting water falling largely on women and children
and their journey to collect water is long, tiring and often
dangerous, it prevents millions of mothers from working
and lifting their families out of poverty. It keeps millions
of children out school and from playing, depriving them
of the wellbeing and education necessary to become
healthy adults. Where there are clean water sources, inad-
equate sanitation threatens them and spreads diseases
such as diarrhoea and cholera. People are forced to walk
for water because governments fail to prioritise water and
sanitation for all (The World Walks for Water, 2010).
According to the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) Report 2012, 783 million people, or 11% of the
global population, remain without access to an improved
source of drinking water. Such sources include household
connections, public standpipes, boreholes, protected dug
wells, protected springs and rainwater collections. The
world has met the MDGs drinking water target five years
ahead of schedule but work is not yet completely done.
Also, there are regions particularly delayed such as Sub-
Saharan Africa where over 40% of all people without im-
proved drinking water live.
The United Nations has long been addressing the
global crisis caused by insufficient water supply to satisfy
basic human needs and growing demands on the world’s
water resources to meet human, commercial and agricul-
tural needs. The United Nations Water Conference (1977),
the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation
Decade (1981-1990), the International Conference on Wa-
ter and the Environment (1992) and the Earth Summit
(1992) – all focused on this vital resource. The Decade, in
particular, helped some 1.3 billion people in developing
countries gain access to safe drinking water.

In the general Assembly of the human right to water
and sanitation, the Assembly established the right of eve-
ry human being to have access to sufficient water for per-
sonal and domestic uses (between 50 and 100 litres of wa-
ter per person per day), which must be safe, acceptable
and affordable (water costs should not exceed 3% of
household income), and physically accessible (the water
source has to be within 1,000 metres of the home and col-
lection time should not exceed 30 minutes).
The crucial importance of water to so many aspects of
human health, development and wellbeing led to the in-
clusion of a specific waterrelated target in the Millenni-
um Development Goals (MDGs). At the same time, every
target of the MDGs depends on the achievement of the
water and sanitation target: eradicating extreme poverty
and hunger; achieving universal primary education; pro-
moting gender equality and empowering women; reduc-
ing child mortality; improving maternal health; combat-
ing HIV, AIDS, malaria and other diseases; and ensuring
environmental sustainability.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS
Minna, the Niger State capital has witnessed remark-
able expansion, growth and developmental activities such
as buildings, road constructions, deforestation and many
other anthropogenic activities. In this regard Kpakungu
has been facing a lot of problems such as poor water sup-
ply and sanitation, long stay on queues by women and
children waiting for hours for water, environmental prob-
lems of air and noise pollution, uncollected refuse, flood-
ing due to inadequacy or absence of drainage facilities
and rapid and unplanned urbanization which turns the
area (Kpakungu) into a slum.
The aim of this study is to providing access to ade-
quate potable water supply and a better sanitation through
the use of research and advocacy. The objectives are: 1) to
identify the pattern of access to public water supply and
sanitation in Kpakungu; 2) to create a database of the ex-
isting water source and their yield; 3) to identify the prob-
lems of water and sanitation in Kpakungu; 4) to design a
water and sanitation blue print for the study area.

ADELEYE MEDAYESE OKELOLA
ISSN 22837949
GLOCALISM: JOURNAL OF CULTURE, POLITICS AND INNOVATION
2014, 12, DOI: 10.12893/gjcpi.2014.12.9
Published online by Globus et Locus at www.glocalismjournal.net
Some rights reserved
4
Fig. 1. Niger State in national context.
Source: Department of Urban and Regional Planning, FUT Minna.
This study is limited to Kpakungu area located in
southwest of Minna, Niger State, Nigeria. Kpakungu is faced
with the problem of overcrowding resulting from massive
urban influx. Hence, the low income earners of the city that
can afford to stay in the city centre has made Kpakungu
their habitat due to this reason Kpakungu is forced to grow
in an unplanned. However, access to adequate potable wa-
ter and sanitation situation remained a far cry.
No society can do without access to potable water
and sanitation, hence it is essential to always think of
ways of dealing with problems of poor water supply and
sanitation. It is therefore, pertinent to develop strategies
that will ensure access to potable water supply and sanita-
tion services for sustainable clean environment of the study
area (Kpakungu). The quality, accuracy and the awareness
of stakeholders have tended to be greatly enhanced when
geographic information system is used as a tool.

LOCATION
Kpakungu is located on latitude 90 35’55.00” N and
longitude 60 32’ 00.00”E. Niger state is located between on
latitude 80 10’ N and 100 30’ N and between longitude 30 30’
E and 70 30’ E. Niger State covers an area of 96,363 square
kilometres. Minna is located at the northeastern part of
the land that makes up Niger State along the LagosKano
railway track. It enjoys a strategic location and relatively
easy accessibility from all parts of the country.
Kpakungu has a combination of dry and wet season,
a hybrid of northern and southern Nigeria climate. Pro-
gressively it has a decreased in length and amount of
rainfall from south to north with a mean annual rainfall
between 110mm in the north to 1600mm in the south. The
wet season has duration, which changes from 150 days in
the north to 210 days in the south.
Air temperature in the area is fairly constant during
seasonal variables and the mean temperature does not exceed 13,88oC which is between March and June with the
lowest minimum temperature usually in December and
January. In October it experiences dry season with north
east trade winds from Sahara which brings about Hamat-
tan that last between December and February which the
relative humidity could be as low as 14oC.

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