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Nigeria
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Study of Public and Private Borehole Drilling in Nigeria
UNICEF has been supporting the Federal Government of Nigeria in water supply and sanitation in the rural areas in all the 36 states of the country since 1999. Most of the water supply is through the provision of boreholes. UNICEF Nigeria commissioned the Study of Public and Private Borehole Drilling in Nigeria to evaluate the factors affecting the cost of drilling in the country and determine how to achieve more cost effective borehole provision. Existing data and information on drilling practices in the country and elsewhere was reviewed and about 70 sector players were interviewed. Prices of boreholes were collected from several programmes and projects as well as state agencies and compared with a systematic framework for analysis of borehole costs. Data was collected in the four states of Kano, Lagos, Niger and Rivers.
The report found that there are up to 1,000 private sector drilling companies in Nigeria. Drillers have realised the benefits of small light duty rigs and are using them where appropriate. Of the sampled rigs, 30% are made in Nigeria. Manual drilling was found to be more cost effective than mechanised drilling where feasible. Unfortunately, contract packages tend to be small, discouraging long term investment in equipment. Boreholes are often drilled deeper than they need to be and there is a tendency to specify geophysics on all drilling sites even where it is not necessary. The capacity for proper supervision in terms of experienced personnel and equipment is limited at state level, and post construction monitoring is rarely undertaken.
Manual or hand drilling is widely practised in different parts of Nigeria for both domestic water supply and irrigation. Hand drilling techniques started to be used in the 1980s to tap water for agricultural purposes from the river floodplains. It is estimated today that there are over 30,000 hand drilled wells in Nigeria. The techniques are practiced by farmers, artisan and conventional drillers, university graduates and retired civil servants. The field note Hand Drilling in Nigeria: Why Kill and Ant with a Sledgehammer? by Adekile and Olabode (2009) provides more information on the use of this niche technology in Nigeria, including the historical background, profiles of hand drillers and prevalence of hand drilling.
Water Well Drilling Association of Nigeria
RWSN and WSP-AF supported the establishment of a national drillers assiciation in Nigeria. An initial workshop was held in Abuja in August 2007, and a preliminary committee was established. The Water Well Drilling Association was inaugurated in May 2008. It was agreed that the objectives of the association would be to
- Professionalize the drilling profession
- Advance the expertise of borehole drilling in the country
- Promote the adoption of cost effective borehole practices
- Promote the responsible development and use of groundwater
- Further groundwater awareness and protection
- Use advocacy to encourage government and consumers to use registered association members
- Serve members by creating a community for the dissemination of information
- Develop a code of conduct for members and sanctioning of erring members
If you would like to find out more, the following documents are recommended:
