By Chief Ifeanyi Ndulue
(smnifeanyi@gmail.com)
I lived on Akpo Street, Achara Layout, Enugu, in the late 1990s before relocating to Abuja, where I now live with my family. Like many families at the time, our compound, just like countless others, depended on well water for survival. Decades later, that painful memory remains disturbingly relevant.
Enugu is not just any city. It is one of the ancient and historic cities of southeastern Nigeria, a former capital of the old East Central State and a city that once symbolized order, structure, and government presence. Yet today, it stands as a tragic example of how prolonged neglect can reduce a proud city to daily struggle for the most basic necessity of life — water.
It is shocking and frankly unacceptable that several years after the return of civil rule in Nigeria, successive governments at both the state and federal levels have failed to resolve the persistent water crisis in Enugu. This failure cannot be blamed on lack of awareness. The problem is well known, visible, and lived daily by millions of residents.
Even more disturbing is the silence around solutions in an era of unprecedented technological advancement. Across the world, cities with far harsher climates, poorer natural endowments, and larger populations have deployed diverse and modern technologies to guarantee steady water supply. From surface and underground water harvesting to smart treatment plants, solar-powered pumping systems, reticulation networks, recycling, and desalination technologies, the options are many and proven.
What, then, is the excuse for Enugu?
Is it a lack of technology? Certainly not.
Is it lack of expertise? Nigeria has engineers, hydrologists, and urban planners of global standard.
Is it lack of resources? Billions are spent annually on less essential projects.
The truth is uncomfortable: the crisis persists not because it cannot be solved, but because it has not been treated as a priority.
The irony is painful. Enugu is densely populated and boasts some of the highest concentrations of multi-storey residential buildings in Nigeria. In many of these buildings, water does not flow. I remember vividly how, as young people, we climbed as high as three storeys, hauling gallons and buckets of water on our heads and shoulders. It was exhausting, dehumanizing, and dangerous. Today, children and families still endure the same ordeal in a supposed modern city.
During a recent short holiday visit to Enugu with my young children, I was overwhelmed by sadness and anger. Years have passed. Governments have come and gone. Budgets have been announced with fanfare. Yet the people of Enugu remain trapped in a crisis that should have been resolved decades ago. This is not just failure it is neglect.
Water must be seen for what it truly is: an indispensable necessity. It is life itself. Without water, there is no health, no dignity, no productivity, and no sustainable development. A city without water is a city constantly on the brink vulnerable to disease outbreaks, economic stagnation, and social decay.
No government can credibly claim to care for its people while denying them access to safe and affordable water. No administration can speak of development when residents spend their income buying water from vendors, when women and children bear the physical burden of fetching it, and when the elderly suffer in silence.
The continued neglect of Enugu’s water infrastructure reflects a troubling lack of empathy and vision. It reveals a governance mindset that treats water as a secondary issue rather than the foundation upon which all development rests.
This is therefore a direct and urgent challenge to the Enugu State Government and the Federal Government of Nigeria: demonstrate capacity, competence, and compassion. Move beyond rhetoric. Rehabilitate existing water schemes. Invest in modern, technology-driven water systems. Partner with the private sector where necessary. Set measurable timelines and be accountable to the people.
History will not be kind to leaders who watched a city suffer while solutions were available and ignored. Enugu has given Nigeria much, resources, manpower, and history. It should not be repaid with indifference.
The thirst of Enugu is not inevitable. It is a choice made by inaction. And it is time for that choice to change.
