No fewer than seven children were said to have lost their lives in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, in a boat mishap while returning from their water search.
The relatives of the children said they went in search of water as a shortage had hit the state.
They claimed water vendors sold the essential commodity at N100 per jerrican and because they could not afford it due to the economic situation, they send their children to look for water.
The bereaved parents lamented that the incident occurred last Sunday in Tulukawa community in Gusau Local Government Area of the state, claiming that an unspecified number of their children died in the boat mishap when they were returning from where they went to get water for domestic purposes.
Witnesses said seven dead bodies were recovered while others disagreed that the number of those who lost their lives in the incident were more than seven.
Muhammadu Yusuf, a parent lost two of his children, a daughter identified as Zainab, 17 years old, whose dowry had been paid and her wedding fixed., and a son Aliyu 12 years old.
“The unfortunate incident would not have occurred if not because of the water scarcity, Yusuf cried. ”
He appealed to the State Government to address the problem of perennial shortage of water in Gusau metropolis to avert the ugly incident, stressing that the children died because they went to a faraway place to look for water and fell into tragedy on their way back.
An elder sister to Zainab and Aliyu, who was inconsolable said, they were not happy because of the tragic incident which claimed the lives of two of her younger ones and other children in the neighbourhood.
She lamented that they do not have a well or borehole and called on the government to show empathy to them by providing boreholes to the affected community so that they can access water with ease.
Shawulu Hassan, one of those who rescued the victims said it was an unbelievable incident, calling on the state government to tackle the issue of water shortage.
Recall that for some weeks now, residents of Gusau metropolis have been battling with water scarcity and vendors of the commodity have increased the price of a gallon of water from fifty naira to seventy or one hundred naira, making it difficult for the poor to access.
