“FEATURE: We Haven’t Seen Tap Water in 20 Years” – Kano Residents Lament Acute Water Scarcity
By Halimatu Sadiya Umar
In the blistering heat of Kano, where temperatures soar and thirst bites harder, a quiet crisis is worsening: water is becoming a luxury.
Across many neighborhoods in the ancient city, residents say the hardship of accessing clean, daily-use water has never been more severe.
For some, like Malam Abdullahi Adamu who resides in Hotoro, this scarcity is not new—it is a way of life.
“For over 20 years, we haven’t seen tap water in this area,” he said. “The price of water has doubled, even tripled in some cases. A jerrycan we used to buy at N70 now goes for N100, even N150.”
Adamu’s story echoes across Kurna, Bachirawa, Yakasai, Fagge, Brigade, Hotoro, and other parts of Kano city, where residents depend largely on private vendors—locally known as ‘Yan Garuwa’—to meet their water needs.
As the sun scorches harder and wells run dry (even in the current wet season), these vendors have become both lifeline and burden.
Sani Jibrin, a water vendor in Hotoro, explained the pressure on his own business. “We used to buy 12 jerrycans for N150. Now, it costs between N1,200 and N1,500. How can we not increase our price? We have families too.”
The cost burden does not stop there. Borehole operators like Aliyu Umar have also raised prices, citing diesel costs as a major factor.
“Every day, we spend N45,000 on diesel just to pump water. Without increasing our charges, we cannot survive.”
What was once a basic service has become a high-cost enterprise.
The Kano State Water Supply Agency acknowledges the problem. Its chairman, Ahmad Garba Bichi, urged residents to remain patient, attributing the crisis to ongoing repairs and system upgrades.
But for the residents, patience is wearing thin.
“How long must we wait?” asked one mother of four in Bachirawa. “Children need water. We need to bathe, cook, wash. This isn’t just hardship—it is survival.”
With an ever-growing population and climate pressure mounting, Kano’s water crisis has morphed from an inconvenience into a full-blown humanitarian concern.
The question now is: how long before taps run again in homes that have waited for decades?
Halimatu Sadiya Umar is a Mass Communication student at Maryam Abacha American university of Nigeria (MAAUN), Kano She can be reached via: [email protected].
