Nigeria’s water crisis is a justice crisis, not a market failure —Aderonke Ige.
Aderonke Ige, a legal practitioner and social justice activist, who leads the environmental justice campaigns at the Help Initiative for Social Justice and Humanitarian Development, speaks with ADEOLA OJO, on issues bordering on water as a fundamental right, commercialisation of water in Nigeria and the water justice crisis among other issues.
Is water a right?
Water is a fundamental human right. And it must never be reduced to a commodity that people have to negotiate for; it is life. This is the reason many civil society organisations are focused on the human right to water and the promotion of public ownership and democratic control of water resources. It is also the reason that we have some ongoing campaigns aimed at amplifying community voices to strengthen advocacy for democratic control of water resources. There must be public alternatives to water privatisation, including the concept of “Blue Communities” as models of sustainable water management.
