The quest for clean and safe water remain an elusive issue to shaka community in Jos, Nigeria with water unable to reach majority of people right in their homes. I live in an area that could be called urban by Nigerian standards compared to rural areas, but surprisingly we have to organize our own water supply. This means sourcing your water through hand dug wells, a bole hole for the rich.....but generally home owners in this community have to lay down the pipes and pump the water into their homes. This is compounded by lack of electricity as the area is not connected to the national power grid but a private electric company who operates on 'a cash and carry basis' at an expensive rate.
Luckily with the rainy season the situation is not so bad, but it's October and already the water level in the wells are depleting so fast and it reminded me today that soon it will be back to the dry season when sourcing for water will soon commerce. This is characterized by long queues of women and children waiting patiently to fetch water. The water vendors other wise called 'mai ruwa' who are mostly men, usually will not fetch water at home because its a woman's job, will be out there on the streets making a profit by fetching water for domestic and household use for those who can afford it. The gender roles are conveniently blurred at this point, since fetching water in time of scarcity is a lucrative business it does not matter cos it pays the bills. This rein enforces the fact that gender roles can vary and change at any given time especially in the Nigerian context to my mind depending on 'what's in it for me'.
