SHIFT INITIATIVE AND JOS WATER SERVICES CORPORATION ENGAGE STAKEHOLDERS ON PRUDENT WATER MANAGEMENT IN GREATER JOS AREA AND ENVIRONS.

By Onjefu Odaudu, Jos, Nigeria
A two day capacity building and Community engagement targeted towards the promotion of resilient water management in the greater Jos area kicked off at the ELIEL centre Jos, Nigeria on Wednesday 17, December 2025.

A collaboration between SHIFT INITIATIVE an NGO which specializes in water management sanitation issues, health, education, alongside capacity building amongst others and the Jos Water Services Corporation the parley with  brought together Community based stakeholders,the management team of the Jos Water Services and the general public to brainstorm on effective and prudent use of water resources within the target area.

At the engagement one of the panelists Choji Ignatius Davou delivered a paper titled "Promoting resilient water management system in urban communities in a climate change era" where he outlined the challenges faced by the water sector in a global warming era where the right to water and it's constituent resources has often led to conflict and tension by state and non state actors to wield control.

He spoke on deforestation of catchment areas and the  decentralization of treatment dams and the use of abandoned mining ponds to create mini dams to reduce the burden on the central plant.

He also cited the issue of urban slums where people build houses in rocky areas where access to water is often difficult due to the terrain.

He called for the installation of solar powered  communal boreholes to alleviate the burden on the populace amidst other relevant interventions by critical stakeholders including government and NGO's in the sector.

Another panelist Ezekiel Choji who spoke on "Development and Participation/Partnership" urged the people to take charge of water intervention projects in their various localities as water had become a scarce essential resource as "Water is Life"

Speaking at the event Dannie Basi who is the Technical Director for SHIFT INITIATIVE disclosed that the NGO was particularly focused on climate change and how it affects water management and  distribution.

In his words:

"In our engagement especially on the issue of climate change we saw a lot of gaps and so we are trying to be proactive and let our people know that it's not business as usual due to  a growing young urban population which has put considerable stress on our water facilities"

"There is competition because Plateau State is also a main source of ground water for most of the states in the North such as Benue,Bauchi,Yobe and even Kano in the value chain"

"So in our value chain we want to carry communities along, not just halfway but even through the implementation and execution stage so that they take responsibility for the facilities while identifying women as a critical component in the block chain"

A representative of the Jos Water Services Corporation who is also the Director of Health, Safety and Environment Akus Amos described the citizen and stakeholder engagement as a welcome development to chart the  way forward saying that it was a wonderful idea for people to sit on a roundtable and discuss problems that affect everyone in the sector.

He commended SHIFT INITIATIVE for it's partnership with the Jos Water Services Corporation and assured that the collaboration was only just the beginning of greater concepts to come in the management of water and allied resources in the greater Jos area.

There was also a questions/ interactive session where the participants, panelists and the organizers strategized on solution driven ideas to solve gaps in the effectivemanagement and sustainance of deployed resources and facilities in the water sector.

The Stakeholder engagement is expected to end on Thursday, 18 December 2025 where a policy document /recommendation is expected to be issued.

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