BENIN CITY – The relevance of rivers in the food production chain and the socio-economic life of man and the need to preserve them has been stressed.
This formed the central message in the press briefing by the Managing Director of the Benin Owena River Basin Development Authority (BORBDA) Engr Saliu Osifuemhe Ahmed as parts of programmes of action marking the maiden edition of the World Rivers Day in Nigeria.
He acknowledged the importance the Ministry of Water Resources, its agencies and other stakeholders including friends of the rivers attach to the 2021 World Rivers Day which made the maiden edition of the day’s celebration in Nigeria remarkable.
Engr Ahmed said that one of the valued propositions of BORBDA is ‘No Water, No Food, No Life’, which he said underscored its mandate to undertake a comprehensive development of surface and underground water resources for multiple uses with particular emphasis on provision of irrigation infrastructure, erosion and watershed management.
He listed other purposes of rivers to include raw water for treatment as portable water for domestic uses, irrigation for agricultural needs, transportation, as navigational waterways, industrial uses for varied production and processing, tourism and even for spiritual purposes.
The essence of the day the managing director said was to highlight the many values of rivers and to encourage the improved stewardship of all rivers by all stakeholders across the world, noting however that the day offered a chance to learn about the problems related to rivers and to encourage everyone not only to be advocates, but also to take action to make our rivers safe and preserved.
The managing director explained that BORBDA like other river basins across Nigeria with the mandate to manage and conserve water for the purpose of its multiple uses remains the fulcrum around which the agricultural agenda of the Buhari administration is woven; stressing that, celebrating the world rivers day affords it the rare opportunity to appreciate the precious asset we have in the waterways.
With the catchments area of the federal agency covering ten senatorial districts across four states of Edo, Ondo, Ekiti and Delta, Engr Ahmed said is blessed with numerous rivers some of which the agency had built dams including the Owena Multi-purpose dam at Igbaraoke, Ondo State, and Oguashi-Uku dam in Delta state.
Other small sized dams he said include those in Ukhun-Era in Edo, Oye/Ayade, and Aisegbe dam in Ekiti state, stressing however that BORBDA was currently constructing an earth dam in Otuo and had concluded designs to commence the construction of new dams in Auchi in Edo.
He said the agency had sustained its efforts to develop irrigation infrastructure across its catchments states, besides the numerous communities that have over the last four years been provided with water from underground sources mostly powered by solar.
He acknowledged the pioneering efforts of the internationally celebrated river conservationist, Mark Angelo whose role led to the UN recognizing the day as far back as 2005, just as he listed the six thematic points of the campaign viz; “our rivers are not refuse dumps; stop open defecation; don’t pollute our rivers, stop discharge of sewage into our rivers; stop the discharge of untreated effluents into our rivers, and the last which speaks of the need to preserve our rivers and waterways.
