Obasanjo Warns Against ‘Unregulated’ Borehole Drilling

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned against unregulated borehole drilling in the country noting that its repercussions may be devastating.

The Oyan Dam project initiated and executed by his military administration in 1977, he noted, would have solved this problem in Abeokuta, Ogun State if it had been sustained by successive administrations and remained operative.

The former president’s Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi disclosed in a statement he issued on Monday that Obasanjo said this during the visit of management and staff of the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority to his residence on Sunday.

 They were led by the Managing Director, Dr Adedeji Ashiru and the visit was to mark the 2025 World Water Day.

Obasanjo called for the elimination of waste of water resources, noting that it would be impossible to achieve food sufficiency and security without effective water management.

He added that because the Oyan Dam project has been dysfunctional, residents of Abeokuta have resorted to drilling boreholes everywhere to source for water.

 ‘We cannot deemphasize the importance or usefulness of water to human life and that is why we do say water has no enemy.

This was why as military head of state in 1977, I realized that strategic water management must be part of our food sufficiency drives and food security and we created 11 river basins, including Lake Chad’ he said.

The former president said all the river basins have irrigation facilities, to ensure all-year-round farming while noting that the Oyan Dam project was designed to generate power and water for residents of Ogun and Lagos states.

He lamented that 48 years after the project was initiated, the dam has not lived up to the reasons for its construction.

 ‘Oyan Dam was built to supply water for Abeokuta and Lagos but it has been neglected and ignored, just like the turbine for the power supply.

The water supply is not there for Abeokuta and we have rather continued to dig holes everywhere causing the water level to go down and down, which will have repercussions in the future.

How long that will take is what I don’t know but the geologist can do their job and tell us how fast that repercussions will come’ he said.

 MD of O-ORBDA, Dr Ashiru, lauded the former president for his foresight and commended him  for establishing the 11 river basins 48 years ago.

He said the vision for effective water management and sustainability which Obasanjo had since 1977 was just bought into by the United Nations about 10 years ago.

Ashiru said since his assumption of office, he has been working with the team to make the basin functional for agricultural production, and flood control, among others, as envisioned by the founding fathers while adding that President Bola Tinubu is committed to ensuring that  the basins are put to good use, to boost food security drives.

He disclosed plans by the Ogun-Osun River Basin to construct seven dams across the southwest, with N45bn budgetary allocation in 2025 to drive irrigation farming among other laudable projects-Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you