Amidst killing spree, FG plots clandestine passage of controversial water bill Wednesday

Amidst a surge in killings carried out by suspected Fulani herdsmen across many parts of the country, particularly in the Northwest and Middle Belt, Nigeria’s Federal Government is pushing for the highly contentious National Water Resources Bill, 2022, to be passed secretly by the National Assembly on Wednesday December 28, 2022.

It will be recalled that on December 23, a mass burial was conducted for 40 people murdered by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Mallagum and Sogwon communities in Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State. To date, neither the Kaduna State Government nor the Federal Government has reacted to the unprovoked attacks, which also resulted in the destruction of homes and food crops.

Several analysts agree that the struggle for water and fertile grazing fields by nomadic herdsmen – many of whom are not Nigerian citizens, but find their way into the country via long-forgotten cattle grazing routes – is at the heart of the killings.

Against this backdrop, opposition has steadily mounted to the Water Resources Bill which was first introduced to the House in 2020. Some have expressed a belief that any attempt to hand over regulation of waterbodies across the country to the Federal Government is driven by an ulterior motive.

Others fear that the Federal Government, led by Muhammadu Buhari – a self-identified Fulani – will eventually allocate such waterbodies to his kinsmen herders, to the detriment of legitimate landowners and aboriginal communities.

The controversial bill which has been repeatedly thrown out of the National Assembly makes it illegal to engage in any water-related activity, such as fishing, sand dredging, land reclamation, borehole drilling, etc. without a license. It also grants the federal government the authority to seize control of all natural water bodies and tax people for using them.

Analysts have previously warned that if passed into law as intended, the implication of the bill is that millions of people – primarily in the South – whose livelihoods depend on water, will be forced to pay dearly to use their hitherto free, God-given water resources.

NBS statistics state that 70 percent of Nigeria’s population lives in rural areas, which are home to 80 percent of Nigeria’s total poor population, many of whom are disproportionately likely to rely on water bodies for their survival and livelihood.

Clandestine Plot For Accelerated Passage Of The Bill

According to the source, the decision to put the proposed law through accelerated passage is said to be one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s parting gift to his kinsmen, the Fulani herders who have been having difficulties accessing water for their animals. Explaining the timing of the move, the source said:

“You know that we are already in the Christmas and New Year mood and festivities and many lawmakers especially Christians have travelled out of Abuja. Many have even travelled outside the country with their families and only very few of us are still around. Ordinarily, the National Assembly did not go on recess because of the need to pass the 2023 Appropriation Bill and that is why some of us are still around.

“But during the weekend, we heard that our colleagues especially from the North were being mobilised to turn up for plenary on Wednesday where we are billed to pass the 2023 budget. The plot is that the leadership of the House of Representatives will bring up the Water Bill during the plenary and ensure that it gets an accelerated passage after which it will be forwarded to the president for assent.”

Also speaking, a member of the House from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) who also spoke to our correspondent in confidence said the bill, which has been rejected many times by Nigerians is an offshoot of the failed “Ruga” Bill. According to him, the Ruga Bill not only sought to legitimise open grazing of cattle but also empowered the Federal Government to take over land across the country and hand it over to herdsmen.

Read the full article in West African Weekly