Seeking government partnership for water justice

Rev. Canon Dr Ezekiel Olusegun Babatunde, a theologian from Immanuel College of Theology and director of the Institute of Church and Society of the Christian Council of Nigeria speaks about the attempts to provide clean and safe drinking water to communities seeking partnership with the government in Nigeria.

He is one of the 20 participants from the World Council of Churches (WCC) Global Forum of the Ecumenical Water Network, which took place from 25-27 October in Nairobi, Kenya, with delegates including church officials and experts on water issues from church based groups and international organizations.

Babatunde was interviewed by Fredrick Nzwili, a journalist from Kenya.

Can you briefly outline the work you are doing in the area of water and sanitation in your country or elsewhere?

We are working in many areas, one of which is capacity building of all the member churches that belongs to the Christian Council of Nigeria. We build their capacity in order to teach their members how they can use water and also how they can work actively in areas of sanitation and hygiene. We also work in collaboration with other organizations to make sure that our government provides water to communities, deprived of clean and safe water. Briefly, this is what we are doing in Nigeria.

Are there any challenges you are facing?

One of the challenges we are facing is that people do not have clear understanding of our intentions. When they see us coming to work with them, some think we are there to exploit them. So we seek to become as effective as possible in our work.

Secondly, we are facing financial problems because providing water to a community requires a lot of funds.

Even though they (communities) are going to provide the land or the equipments to use, it is us who build a capacity to maintain the project, which is a big challenge for us. So, if assistance comes, we will be more effective and we will be able to reach out more communities than the few we are working with now.

How are you solving the challenges?

We are building trust among rural communities by making people know that we have only come to assist them. We have started advocacy. We have embarked our campaign. We have created awareness among communities, that this is for their own good, if they know how best to make use of the available water.

The citizens are now beginning to understand our work. In the area of finance, we have been appealing, collaborating and advocating with our local government to acknowledge us as partners, so that they can provide part of what it is required in the initiatives of water and sanitation in communities.

How has EWN been beneficial to your work?

The involvement with EWN in Nigeria, in a large measure has contributed in understanding of human rights to water, sanitation, and equitable and just distribution of water. It has also empowered us (churches) to know what to tell people and how to mobilize them to demand for their rights from the government. So, we have gained a lot of things from EWN.

Read also:

Sustainable water projects need ownership

Water: a political issue needing political solution

Steering for human rights to water

WCC Ecumenical Water Network