Minna is Due for a Cholera Outbreak

Dirty tap water

Reports began to emerge in May 2018 of a new cholera epidemic in Northern Nigeria. The states that were affected initially were Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, but on June 18th, Niger state officially became one of the plagued states. Cholera is a deadly disease that thrives majorly on poor hygiene and is believed to have killed tens of millions of people since it surfaced on the Indian subcontinent in the 19^th century. 

Nigeria has witnessed several outbreaks of the disease prior to now. There have been outbreaks in Nigeria almost every year starting from 1991 with the most deadly one yet coming in 1995/96 in Kano state. In all Cholera outbreaks Nigeria has encountered, the northern states have been the most affected. This trend can be attributed to the high prevalence of poverty in the region which has continued to make most northern households unable to attain high hygiene standards. 

Nigeria’s biggest state by land mass, Niger state (a northern state) shares the same features as the other northern states in terms of life-style, culture and environmental and political outlook. Public water supply in many parts of Niger state is either totally non-existent or grossly inefficient. Bosso, a district in the state capital, Minna, is one place with a water supply system that can be called ‘sinister’.

For years, cutting through different administrations, the citizens in the suburb have been supplied sewage for water. As far as science is concerned, what comes out of taps in Bosso cannot be called water. Scientifically, water is a liquid substance that has no color, odor or taste. Water from taps in Bosso often looks like diluted feces and smell almost as bad. Don’t even ask me about the taste. 

The water is so polluted that it stains anything it comes in contact with; including the ground. Flushing the toilet with it seems to be its only manageable application even though that also causes problems with time as the water causes stains on toilet seats. However, unfortunately and pathetically, a lot of the locals drink this water and even use it for household chores including cooking and washing utensils. One must admit, it is only the Mercy of Allah that has kept the population alive. 

News had it on 20^th June that the Niger state government issued N25 million for the fight against the cholera outbreak but, any sincere and sensible person knows that this is a charade. For cholera to be put at bay for good, the water supply system must be standardized because right now; it is DEAD! In the first year of the tenure of Abubakar Sani Bello, he visited the water board at the Bosso suburb. It was believed that that visit would bring an end to the poisoning that the residents have endured for years, but they waited in forlorn hope.

Asides the poor water supply in Minna, poor waste disposal mechanisms also put Minna at a very high risk of a cholera outbreak. Virtually every street in Bosso has a refuse dump; this makes the environment physically and biologically unclean. Minna is also another place in Nigeria where open defecation is practiced VERY freely. If we really want our city, Minna, to avoid a massive epidemic, then, we must charge those at the helm of affairs to do their jobs by making the welfare and safety of the indigenes a top priority.