The country is faced with a myriad of developmental challenges in the energy, water, transport and agriculture sectors. Only 26.5 per cent of the Nigerian population has access to improved drinking water and sanitation facilities (UNICEF, 2021). The use of contaminated drinking water, poor sanitary conditions and flooding result in increased vulnerability to water-borne diseases, such as the recent outbreak of cholera in some parts of the country. This situation has been further exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic and the requirement for frequent hand washing. Nigeria’s economic potential is also constrained by many structural issues, including inadequate water infrastructure. Indeed, the pace of electricity infrastructure development in the county is very slow and power supply remains highly inadequate (CSEA, 2021), resulting in a very high unemployment rate in the country, as many industries have either closed down or relocated production lines to neighbouring countries.
Also, dam-related flooding, experienced downstream of dams, has become a major problem (Olajuyigbe et al., 2012) that could be attributed to inefficient use of water stored in dam reservoirs (Magbagbeola, O. A., 2015) and has been further aggravated by climate change. Although the government, at the Federal and State levels, has continued to put in place policies and plans in the water sector, there has not been an effective integration of the policies and plans as a result of overlapping and conflicting roles of Departments, Agencies and Ministries.
This paper, therefore, seeks to draw attention to the yawning gap in the usage of the dams for the purposes for which they were built and to advocate an effective integrated water resources management as an adaptive mechanism to promote SDG 6 in Nigeria. The study further reveals the over-looked investment opportunities and untapped resources in Nigeria’s water sector. Exploring these will promote the achievement of the SDGs, thereby ensuring the fulfillment of the SDG slogan “leaving no one behind”, especially in Nigeria’s critical water sector.
Source: Eyeoyibo, F. 2021. Adaptive & Resilient Design of Water Infrastructure: Water Quality, Flooding and Drought: A Case for Efficient Use of Water Stored in Dams in Nigeria. Water quality and species monitoring, efficient water use and data-led solutions. Clean Water & Ecosystem Restoration. AIWW 2021.