The Ahademe stream in Ukako Community, Okeneba, Okene Local Government Area Photo Credit: VERITY NEWS
By Ukako Abdul
“I Pray I’m Not Born Here Again”
“If the myth about reincarnation is anything true, I pray I shouldn’t be born an Okene woman again, this suffering is too much.”
Those were the words of 34-year-old Shefiyat Salihu, a mother of two who had only recently given birth to her second daughter. With a 25-litre keg balanced on her head, Shefiyat trudged uphill from Anyava, one of the few water sources serving the area, climbing the steep Ahache–Uruvoba hills to her home in Okeneba, Okene Local Government Area.
One hand steadied the wobbling 25-litre keg; the other clutched her three-year-old daughter, dragging the child along the rocky path. Still recovering from childbirth, Shefiyat had no choice. In Kogi Central, thirst does not wait for healing.
The spiritual environment of Ahademe stream: Photo credit: VERIY NEWS
In Kogi Central Senatorial District, the saying “water is life” has lost its meaning. It is its apt reverse. Here, water is danger.
That danger nearly claimed the life of Husseina’s husband in Idakatapa, Kuroko, Adavi Local Government Area. Like many families, they woke shortly after 3:00 a.m., trekking several kilometres into the forest in search of water. Her husband walked ahead with a phone torchlight when suddenly he screamed “isosimidari!” — something has bitten me in Ebira language. A snake strike.
Only the bravery of their 12-year-old son, who ran home to summon help, saved his father’s life. “That was how I almost lost my husband,” Husseina said. “All because we were looking for water.”
In Kuroko, Eika, Iruvicheba, Obehira, Idiche and surrounding settlements, early morning treks for water are routine. Feet are torn by thorns, bodies scratched by bushes. Children who should be preparing for school are instead burdened with kegs.
Teachers and parents confirmed that during the dry season, school absenteeism rises sharply, as children arrive late or miss classes entirely while searching for water.
Across Okene, Okehi and Adavi, men and women, young and old — roam daily with water containers. The sight resembles displaced persons fleeing disaster, except this displacement is caused by thirst.
Beyond private suffering, public groaning over lack of water is widespread and constant. Residents lament openly in marketplaces, mosques, churches, village squares and at funerals.
In Okeneba, Ukako, Karaworo, Uwhodo, Obehira and Eika, residents complain loudly whenever community meetings are held. In Okene township, water scarcity dominates conversations at Anyigba Road, Bariki, Kuroko Road, Central Market, Ihima Road axis and near the old waterworks.
Community leaders said complaints are frequently raised during ward meetings, traditional council gatherings and political visits, with residents asking visiting politicians one recurring question: “Where is our water?”
In Adavi and Okehi, residents routinely voice their frustrations during dry season peak months, accusing successive governments of abandonment. Some youths interviewed said anger often replaces hope whenever new political promises are made.
Social media platforms, particularly Facebook, have also become spaces where residents post videos and comments lamenting dry taps, long treks and rising water costs. Though many posts lack formal documentation, they reflect deep public frustration across the district.
Women, children and youth queuing up in search of water at Iruvukura in Okene
Photo Credit: VERITY NEWS
Dignity at Risk: Women, Menstrual Hygiene and Hidden Compromises
Women suffer disproportionately. Many complain that during menstruation, finding enough water to bathe and maintain hygiene is extremely difficult. “Sometimes you choose between cooking and bathing,” one woman said.
Insiders also told this reporter that some married women, driven by desperation, enter discreet relationships with men who own boreholes to secure daily water access for their families — a painful compromise born out of scarcity.
For the largely Ebira population of Kogi Central, rainwater remains the only dependable relief. During the rainy season, households collect and store water, knowing hardship will return once the rains stop.
From Idiche to Okeneba, Karaworo to Iruvicheba, Eika to Uwhodo, the pattern is identical: suffering pauses briefly, then resumes.
In Ukako, a hilly part of Okeneba and the hometown of this reporter, the water crisis is severe. Nearly 30 years ago, in 1996, primary school pupils woke by 4:00 a.m. to fetch water from Ekuku Dam before school.
Three decades later, nothing has changed.
The community still relies on Ahademe, a spiritual stream that remains its main source of water. Buckets, bowls and kegs still line its banks. A girl once born there was named Ahademe, a name she later rejected, unwilling to be permanently tied to hardship.
“Our fathers complained,” residents say. “We complained. Our children are now complaining.”
The Okene Waterworks, established in 1933, drawing from Ekuku and Okeneba dams, was meant to end this suffering. Influenced by the late Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Ibrahim Onoruoyiza Atta, it once symbolised hope.
Neglect set in. Equipment decayed. Infrastructure collapsed.
In 2004, the LNRBDA expanded the facility, but incompletely. In 2014, a ₦51.1 million fencing contract was abandoned until ICPC intervention in 2016. The waterworks was secured — but still dry.
Women on queue in Kuroko, Adavi LG in search of water
Pho credit: VERITY NEWS
“I Awarded the Contract” — Yahaya Bello’s Promise and the Blame Game
In November 2017, former Governor Yahaya Bello promised total resuscitation. He publicly stated that contracts had been awarded for expansion, desilting, pipe replacement and reticulation, and ordered a technical audit.
In April 2018, Bello flagged off the project, giving a 72-day timeline. Salcom Engineering, represented by Engr. Zubair Abdul, said capacity would rise from 50,000 to 252,000 litres. Bello declared that every household would enjoy abundant water, renaming the facility “GYB Water.”
When the project stalled, Bello later openly blamed contractors, saying he had awarded the contracts but they failed to deliver. Videos of him calling out contractors circulated on social media, though verifiable archival documentation of its completion remains lacking.
As government failed, private boreholes filled the gap. Water selling became business. Boreholes proliferated across Okene.
Experts warn of groundwater contamination risks. Dr. Jimoh Ozigi described the situation as a looming public health threat.
A 2019 study recorded 287 boreholes in Okene, only 68.4% functional, with 67% privately
owned, leaving the poor most vulnerable.
From Bello to Ododo: Groans Continue
During the 2023 governorship campaign, Ahmed Usman Ododo promised to complete the Okene water project. Today, with Osara, Ekuku and Okene Waterworks dams still largely non-functional, residents continue to groan.
From hilltops to valleys, from markets to mosques, from schools to homes, one cry echoes across Kogi Central:
“Water is still not flowing.”
For Shefiyat, Husseina, and generations of Ebira people, the wait continues — and the question remains unanswered:
When will the taps finally run?