Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned against the widespread drilling of water boreholes in residential areas, citing potentially devastating consequences.
He attributed the prevalence of borehole construction, particularly in Abeokuta, Ogun State, to the failure of successive administrations to maintain the Oyan Dam project, which his military administration initiated in 1977.
According to a statement from his media assistant, Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo issued this warning during a visit from the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority on World Water Day.
He emphasized the need to eliminate water waste, highlighting that food sufficiency and security are impossible without effective water management.
Obasanjo stated that the neglect of the dam project has led Abeokuta residents to resort to widespread borehole drilling, a practice he cautioned carries unknown, but potentially severe, repercussions.
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“We cannot de-emphasise the importance or usefulness of water to human life and this why we do say water has no enemy,” he said.
“This was why as Military Head of State in 1977, I realised that strategic water management must be part of our food sufficiency drives, and food security and we created 11 River Basin including the Lake Chad.
“And what are we trying to achieve? If we have to only depend on rain fed agriculture, we shall definitely not get it right. Rain may come too early or too late, there may be droughts or flood all of which have telling effect on food production and security.
“So, the first thing to do as part of measure designed to achieve food security is effective management of water for agriculture. All of the river basins therefore have facilities for irrigation to ensure all year-round farming.”
Obasanjo explained that the Oyan Dam was originally designed to generate both power and water for residents of Ogun and Lagos States.
However, he lamented that 48 years after its construction, it has not fulfilled its intended purpose.
He highlighted the dam’s potential to generate 9 megawatts of electricity, stating that if realized, this could significantly improve power supply and alleviate the country’s electricity challenges.
“Oyan Dam was built to supply water for Abeokuta and Lagos, but it has been neglected and ignored just like the turbine for the power supply,” he noted.
“The water supply is not there for Abeokuta, and we have rather continued to dig holes everywhere causing the water level to go down and down. That will have repercussions in the future, how long we shall have it I don’t know, but the geologist can do their job and tell us how fast that repercussions will come.”
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Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority (O-ORBDA) Managing Director and Chief Executive, Ashiru, explained that their visit to former President Obasanjo was to acknowledge his foresight in establishing the 11 river basins 48 years ago.
He noted that Obasanjo’s 1977 vision for effective water management and sustainability predates the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6, which focuses on sanitation and clean water, by approximately 10 years.
Ashiru stated that his leadership has been dedicated to realizing the original goals of the river basins, including boosting agricultural production and controlling flooding.
He also highlighted President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to utilizing the river basins to support the administration’s food security initiatives.
Ashiru revealed that the Federal Government funded the construction of seven dams across the Southwest by the Ogun-Osun River Basin in the previous year, and has allocated N45 billion for irrigation farming in the agency’s 2025 budget.
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