By Abdullahi Lukman
Residents of Omikunle, Yemetu, in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State, have raised concerns over the government’s failure to provide a promised borehole months after their only reliable water source became contaminated with diesel-like substances.
The community has been without potable water since September 2025, when an oily liquid was discovered in a privately owned well that had served residents for more than 20 years.
Although government agencies initially intervened and promised a replacement water source, residents say no lasting solution has followed.
The contamination was first noticed on September 6, 2025, when residents observed an unusual sheen on the surface of the well water.
The Oyo State Police Command later confirmed the presence of a thick, diesel-like substance, and tests by the Ministry of Environment ruled out crude oil.
The well was subsequently drained, and the community was supplied with about 5,000 litres of water as a temporary relief.
However, residents say the relief lasted only a day, leaving them to rely on purchased water from neighbouring communities at rising costs. Many households now spend up to ₦200 per container for daily needs such as cooking, bathing and washing.
One of the well’s owners, Alhaja Falilatu Raji Farmade, said the well, though privately owned by three elderly women, had always served the wider community.
She said government officials instructed residents not to use the well after contamination and promised to construct a new one, but no action has been taken months later.
Other residents, including Ade Aderiyigbe and Motunrayo Akanji, corroborated the account, saying the well remains unsafe despite efforts to pump out the contaminated water.
They added that elderly owners of the well now depend entirely on neighbours and paid water vendors for survival.
Investigations by the Ministry of Environment also inspected a telecommunications mast located near the well but found no direct link to the contamination.
Reports indicated that the mast owners were directed to provide a borehole as part of corporate social responsibility, though this has yet to materialise.
When contacted, a senior official of the Ministry of Environment said the crude oil claim was a rumour and maintained that water tankers had been supplied to the community.
The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said the government does not abandon its promises and advised further engagement with the Ministry of Environment and the state water agency.
Water rights advocates and environmental health experts have described the situation as a violation of residents’ right to clean water, warning that prolonged exposure to petroleum-contaminated water poses serious health risks.
They stressed that the government has both a legal and moral responsibility to provide a permanent water solution and remediate the polluted well.
As residents continue to wait for intervention, the lack of access to safe water has deepened daily hardship in the community, highlighting broader concerns about water security and environmental protection in vulnerable areas.
Source: The Punch
