VIRAL VIDEO: Calling on NMU Governing Board, Federal Government to tackle acute water scarcity in the school
By GbaramatuVoice Editorial Board
Each passing day brings to mind the fact that the underdevelopment and neglect of Niger Delta region is not restricted to its environment and people, but affects everything that has to do with the region including Federal Government institutions and agencies located within the region.
A good of example of such neglect is a viral video that captured the students of the Nigerian Maritime University, Okerenkoko in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta state, scooping water for their daily needs from unsafe and heavily polluted sources within the institution’s campus in Kurutie.
While GbaramatuVoice condemns this latest sad situation, the development more than anything else signposts another failing and failure on the part of the school’s governing board, Ministry of Education and the Federal Government by extension.
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Also making it a reality to worry about is the fact that neither the school’s governing board nor Ministry of Education or the Federal Government considered the harmful consequence of the usage of such unhealthy water could have on the heath of these innocent students.
Compounding the problem is the awareness that the current challenge is coming after years of persistent call by stakeholders on Federal Government to pass and sign the Nigerian Maritime University Bill into law so that adequate annual budgetary allocation will be made available for the institution to handle issues such as water and other infrastructural provisions.
For instance, NMU is a specialized institution. If the bill is passed, it will avail the university opportunity for multiple streams of funding –from Ministry of Transportation through its agency, The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), formerly the National Maritime Authority, responsible for regulations related to Nigerian shipping, maritime labor and coastal waters.
It is on this note that GbaramatuVoice calls on the NMU University Governing Board and the Federal Government to take sincere steps to address the ongoing acute water scarcity in the institution.
Both the school management and of course the Federal Government must not fail to remember that water is a human right and the right to water entitles everyone to have access to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible, and affordable water for personal and domestic use.
GbaramatuVoice holds the opinion that these students are knowledge hungry and this must be provided by the Federal Government in a conducive environment.
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