Management and Operational Problems of Rural Water Supply in Nigeria: A Case Study of Sokoto State Water Board
Chapter One
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The aim of this research project on the management and operational problems of rural water supply in Nigeria, a case study of Sokoto state water board to investigate the followings;
- The extent to which the aims and objective of rural water supply programme are being achieved in Nigeria with particular reference to rural communities.
- To find out the extent of adequacy and suitability of materials and human resources for change in rural water supply programme.
- To ascertain the extent to which the changes in government and leadership affect the steady water supply.
- To find out the extent to which the management and operational problems affect the functionality of the rural water supply service in Nigeria with particular reference to Sokoto State.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Conceptual Framework and Literature Review
The challenge of sustainable water resources management, in line with the new principles and approaches, may be conceived in terms of some simple policy relevant questions: how much resources is available and who needs it? Who gets how much? At what cost? And at what price, if any? (IDRC,2002). However, there are also deeper questions that also need to be addressed: who decides? By what procedures? What features of governance will most likely produce management decisions that are fair, effective and environmentally sustainable? The answers to these questions are by no means trivial and they may vary for different communities or nations depending on their form of organising socio-cultural and political life. This is particularly true for the deeper questions: who decides? By what procedure? Douglas(1987) and Thompson et al. (1990) argued that it is possible to discern four fundamental forms of social organisation from which a large variety of ultimate forms of social and cultural life can be derived. Each of the four ways of organising socio-cultural life (usually called ‘ways of life’ or social solidarities), that is fatalism, egalitarianism, hierarchy and individualism, consists of specific ways of structuring social relations and a supporting cast of particular beliefs, values, emotions, perceptions and interests (Douglas et al., 2003; Thompson, 2003) as well as specific knowledge systems (Mabawonku, 2003). In the individualist social setting, actors view nature as benign and resilient – able to recover from any exploitation – and man as inherently self-seeking and atomistic. The individualist solidarity trust others until they give them reason not to and then retaliate in kind, and see it as only fair that those who put the most in get the most out. They think institutions that work with the grain of the market (that get rid of environmentally harmful subsidies, for instance) are what are needed. There knowledge system is essentially scientific. In the egalitarian social setting, actors see nature as fragile, intricately interconnected and ephemeral, and man as essentially caring (until corrupted by coercive institutions such as markets and hierarchies). For the egalitarians, it is not enough that people start off equal, they must end up equal as well. Trust and levelling go hand in hand, and institutions that distribute unequally are distrusted, their knowledge system is described as the philosophical. In the hierarchical social setting the knowledge system is ideological, actors see the world as controllable. Nature is stable until pushed beyond discoverable limits, and man is malleable: deeply flawed but redeemable by firm, long-lasting and trustworthy institutions. Fair distribution is by rank and station or in the modern context, by need.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought management and operational problem of rural water supply in Nigeria
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information management and operational problem of rural water supply in Nigeria. 200 residents of selected local government in Sokoto state was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain management and operational problem of rural water supply in Nigeria. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of management and operational problem of rural water supply in Nigeria
Summary
This study was on management and operational problem of rural water supply in Nigeria. Five objectives were raised which included: The extent to which the aims and objective of rural water supply programme are being achieved in Nigeria with particular reference to rural communities, to find out the extent of adequacy and suitability of materials and human resources for change in rural water supply programme, to ascertain the extent to which the changes in government and leadership affect the steady water supply, to find out the extent to which the management and operational problems affect the functionality of the rural water supply service in Nigeria with particular reference to Sokoto State. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 residents of selected local government in Sokoto state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made village heads, eldery men, elderly women and youths were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
The existing policy to supply water through boreholes especially in situations where there is no regular electricity supply to power the machines, as currently obtained in the rural areas studied, is counter productive. Given the fact that women and children are the ones mostly involved in fetching water, there is need to devise technologies for water supply which are women and children friendly. A challenge to the state’s water agency, therefore, is the capability to develop and install appropriate technologies to meet the basic water supply and sanitation needs of the millions of citizens who now lack them. The Water Corporation should purchase and install electric power generators in all its waterworks and booster stations. Also, the corporation should ensure regular servicing and maintenance of all their equipment and machinery. It is therefore obvious that more manpower should be recruited into the technical divisions of the corporation.
Recommendation
As part of the appropriate technology strategy which should be emphasized in these austere times, the use of locally produced handpumps, PVC pipes, protected well and mandatory rain-harvesting is strongly suggested. Rain water could easily be harvested if properly owners are mandated to provide gutters along building roof-eaves which should then be diverted into a covered concrete metal reservoir. Rain water harvesting has been practiced since early history, and it is suitable I both urban and rural areas; and the quality of water collected is generally within the recommended limits for drinking water. The maximum yield possible for a rainwater catchment system is differently proportional to the catchment surface (roof) area.
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