Presidency seal. |
That Bill is suspicious. A Bill that is out to rob many people, in
broad day light, of their means of livelihood cannot but attract resentment and
condemnation.
It is inconceivable
that indigenous peoples, especially, in the South and Middle Belt regions of
Nigeria would accept to be alienated from their God-given water resources. The
National Assembly would do well to once again, trash the Bill to save the country
from avoidable conflagration. The representatives of the people had better let
the sleeping dog lie to avoid another round of crisis in the already volatile
polity.
The repugnant and
detestable land-grabbing Bill, which obviously is suspected to grant Fulani
herdsmen and Miyeti Allah cattle breeders unfettered access to land and water
resources in Southern Nigeria, can only trigger national upheaval.
Coming at a time when
Nigerians are clamouring for proper federalism that entails devolution of
powers to the states and local authorities, the introduction of a Water
Resources Bill by President Buhari, to further alienate the people is
unfortunate. The president should withdraw the bill in public interest.
When the Bill was first introduced in the 8th Senate, it
generated controversy across the country, because of its desire to have the
Federal Government take control of lands and water resources in the country.
The perception by the public that the Bill was a decoy to advance the interest
of the cattle herding Fulani population was palpable.
Though the Speaker of
the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, had reportedly raised concerns
over the piece of legislation, by querying, “is this not the same Bill that
generated controversy in the media,” he still allowed it to pass. And the
question is why? Why did he not shut it down knowing the gravity of the
implications of the Bill if passed into law?
The Bill, entitled
“National Water Resources Bill, 2020,” was arbitrarily reintroduced in the
Green Chamber, in breach of its rules, legislative convention and provisions of
the 1999 constitution before the House adjourned for a two-month recess on
Thursday, July 23, 2020.
It was therefore
shocking that on Thursday, July 23, 2020, the House had, in referring to Order
12, Rule 16 of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives, 9th
Edition, passed the National Water Resources Bill, 2020 and committed it to a
“Committee of the Whole”, for third reading and final passage. The presentation
of the Bill was done by the House Chairman on Rules and Business, Fulata.
Analysts say the
referral of the Bill to the Committee of the Whole breached Order 12, Rule 16
of the Standing Orders of the House. Though the Order states that such a bill
from a preceding Assembly be gazetted and clean copies circulated, reports say
none of that was done.
The Bill seeks to bring all water resources (surface and
underground) and the banks of the water sources under the control of the
Federal Government through its agencies to be established by the Bill.
Section 13 of the
Bill, states, “in implementing the principles under subsection (2) of this
section, the institutions established under this Act shall promote integrated
water resources management and the coordinated management of land and water
resources, surface water and ground water resources, river basins and adjacent
marine and coastal environment and upstream and downstream interests.”
Section 2(1) of the
Bill, says: “All surface water and ground water wherever it occurs, is a resource
common to all people.’’ The Bill is primed for passage by the House on their
resumption from recess next month, which is September.
Reacting to the secret
plot to pass the bill, the Southern, Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), called
on Nigerians to be ready for a protracted resistance to the move by the
lawmakers.
The authorities in
Abuja should not ignore the warning statement by the Southern and Middle Belt
Forum on this hot potato. In their statement: “The Southern and Middle Belt
Leaders Forum calls on all the communities opposed to the bill, meant to grab
land around waterways for cattle herders, to use the break time to organize
community special sittings for their representatives to explain the meaning of
this latest move and their roles in it.” The Bill, if passed into law,
will clip the wings of state and local government authorities as well as
individuals from making use of the water at their backyard without permit from
Abuja. This development will engender serious contentions across Nigeria. The
result would be water wars, which would be more devastating than the
contentions over grazing land and even oilfields.
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