Daud Olatunji
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has raised concerns over the indiscriminate drilling of boreholes in residential areas, particularly in Abeokuta, Ogun State, warning that the practice poses significant long-term environmental and water security risks.
Obasanjo issued the warning through a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, over the weekend during a visit by the management and staff of the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority (O-ORDA) in commemoration of World Water Day.
He lamented that successive administrations had abandoned the Oyan Dam project, leading to an overreliance on boreholes, which could have devastating consequences.
Recounting the history of the Oyan Dam, Obasanjo explained that the project was initiated under his military administration in 1977 to ensure sustainable water supply, food security, and hydroelectric power generation. However, 48 years later, the dam remains largely unused due to government neglect.
“Oyan Dam was built to supply water to Abeokuta and Lagos, but instead of harnessing it, we have resorted to digging boreholes everywhere,” Obasanjo said.
“This is lowering the water table, and while we may not yet see the full consequences, they could be catastrophic in the future.”
He also pointed out that the dam was originally designed to generate 9 megawatts of electricity, which could have contributed significantly to Nigeria’s power supply.
However, he lamented that its turbines, meant for hydroelectric power generation, had been abandoned.
Obasanjo emphasized that Nigeria’s food security is intrinsically linked to water management, stressing that rain-fed agriculture alone is inadequate for sustainable food production.
“If we rely only on rainfall, we will never get it right. Rain may come too early or too late, and we may experience droughts or floods—all of which disrupt food production,” he noted.
He recalled that during his tenure as Head of State, his administration established 11 river basin authorities, including the Lake Chad Basin, to ensure year-round irrigation farming.
He urged the government to revive these river basins to enhance agricultural productivity and mitigate food shortages.
The Managing Director of O-ORDA, Dr. Adedeji Ashiru, commended Obasanjo for his foresight in establishing Nigeria’s river basin authorities, noting that the United Nations only began emphasizing sustainable water management a decade ago with the introduction of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG-6) on clean water and sanitation.
Ashiru assured that efforts were underway to revitalize Nigeria’s river basins. He revealed that the federal government had allocated ₦45 billion in the 2025 budget to boost irrigation farming and had constructed seven new dams across the Southwest to improve water accessibility.
He further stated that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is committed to ensuring that Nigeria’s river basins play a crucial role in achieving food security.
Experts have consistently warned that indiscriminate borehole drilling could lead to severe environmental consequences, including:
He urged the government to revive abandoned dam projects and implement sustainable water policies to prevent an impending water crisis.
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