Chronicles of the Drought-a threat?

This write-up focuses on Water Problem, Bush Fires and their effects.

Ghana has two main seasons namely the dry and rainy season. The stormy (if you like rainy) season of this year (2014) was characterized by almost daily pregnant clouds and storm gods. It was also labelled by news of devastating floods that scythe across most media platforms perpetually.

During this time, people residing at flood-prone parts of the country especially some suburbs of Accra had to gird up their loins to manage a possible state of flood disaster. For some-days we were curfewed within the four walls of our rooms by agonizing rains.

The government’s National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) says floods have affected close to 275,000 people in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions of the country. Parts of the Western Region, Accra have also seen flooding. Most of the affected people are displaced, although some are still living in what is left of their homes (NADMO, 2014). A number of school buildings were also wrecked by the floods forcing a virtual vacation for students and teachers (floodlist.com/tag/Ghana, 2014). Indeed the storms caused devastating effects.

That notwithstanding, the erstwhile season was allied with a good number of merits. Of course, the heinous water problem was virtually brought under control; food too became available and affordable. Besides, dust dodged, and the weather became comfortably cold. Simply, the merits of the rains cannot be over-emphasized.

But so soon, like Rolland Kelly dubbed one of his hit tracks “the storm is over”, the slender body of the rainy season breaks and the rains are hibernated. It has simply left us alone! Perhaps just to let us smile to the yuletide without goose feelings. So, what is our next code of fate as the storms subside?

You see, the end of the rains is the threshold of a dreadful drought (a.k.a harmattan). The harmattan, a dry desert wind which blows from December to March is here again to terrorise us. And this is where we have sand seeds of problems to crucify. Married to dire shortage of one of life’s pillaring units (water), horrendous dust, scorching sun and cankerous pedigree of rampant fires (bush and domestic), the drought will be no less a hell. We really are ushered to a season untoward felicity once again.

Water Problem: a Gaussian knot to unfold

It is even scary to think of the menace of water during the drought in the country. Though it is not an exaggerated claim to say there are countless water bodies in the country, it is near awful to see water hailed like 'Salasie' (god of the rastar world) during the harmattan. Inarguably , curious volumes of drinkable water sources such as the popular Ankobra, Pru, Densu, Pra a.s.o grace our landscape coupled with zillions of litres of water that are made to go waste during the down pour season. Besides, the country even has an underground water potency. Yet people have to walk miles to get water in both our urban and rural communities. This is a situation that shames us as a country aspiring to achieve millennium challenge goals.

Sometimes the plight of our village folks is even more pathetic and discerning. For some villages, the available source of the water will be completely awful for drinking. Some even share water with animals like cattle, sheep, dogs etc. We only hope and pray that, by the end of the season, there will be no news of epidemics of waterborne diseases like diarrhoea, tuberculosis, cholera and guinea worm in some of these rural communities.

So, when can we, as a nation, think out a creative way of channeling some of the water from our numerous insaline water bodies to usefulness? When can we machinate a way to direct rain water to agricultural (irrigation), domestic and industrial uses? How long, as a country, are we going to live by the river side and still use saliva to bath? When can we, at peace, match to the harmattan? Are there not scientists in the country who can give us salvation from this evil water canker? How long must feverish birds tremble in silence before their keeper? Do something Mr. Politician!

Despite being almost half the world behind recycling used water, can we not create reservoirs to be able to hoard rain water for later use? I believe that if our cerebral seasoned scientists can think aloud, just the Pru River alone can help us unknot the water puzzle tormenting us.

Various governments claim to have made huge investments into our water generation plants, yet they are not able to solve this age- long problem.

Meanwhile, water shortage affects our productivity. The open-mouth ubiquitous crowd that gather for water daily are mostly workers who have no option but to barter their punctuality for the sake of water.

Other people who run amok for water in the face of the avoidable water crisis include students, teachers, nurses and other professionals. Clearly, these people constitute a critical segment of our production workforce. Why have we chosen to be in a prison without bars and yet cannot escape? A prison that needs no breaking! Let’s be pragmatic in arresting this water menace now.

Bush Fires:

Bushfires and domestic fire has become an issue in the country and northern regions to be specific, especially this season but stakeholders seem to have turned blind eyes and deaf ears to them.

Indeed, most squirming is the virulent and cankerous problem of bush fires that engulf our rich vegetations and command them to lie prostrate. Every year, vast lands are mutilated by bush fires. This annual ritual is costing us a massive deforestation of our enviable forests, loss of game lives and the depletion of our fertile agricultural lands. Plus, food crops worth millions are lost to this awful ritual making food prices rise beyond affordability,

When careless smokers ignorantly launch the tail end piece of their cigarettes on bushes, they start unstoppable fires that blazingly rage the weary mosaic vegetations together with farms. Farmers who fail to buffer or belt their farms end up wailing.

And let the gospel also reach the customary palm wine tappers. The farmers/laborers who cook at their farms and forget to strangle the fire to death before departing home are also agents of bush fires. Others are hunters who behave as though they have invested in the bush preys. In my local area, we call them “farauta” boys meaning seasonal hunters. They are all leading ambassadors of the bush infernos that lead to the loss of dozens of food stuffs worth millions of Ghana Cedis every year. They need taming more than the very animals they hunt.

I will opine that we intensify the punishment of people who cause bush fires and also fast-track their judgements. Besides we should entrench the laws of protection of our forests and game life. It is also high time our agricultural officers discourage the cultural farming method of burning weeded grasses before sowing crops.

To the Forestry Reserve Department, The Environmental Protection Agency(EPA), the Game and Wildlife Reserve and the National Fire Czars, please intensify your education to the masses on causes, effects and prevention of bush fires. You should also educate them on the laws on bush fires in the country. Truly, the drought is the apogee of trials of your professionalism. It is a test of your professional potency. It is your salaried duty to out-live the culprits in time to be able to predict, rescue and arrest them. It will interest Ghanaians not to hear stories of bush fires this year. And we trust you can. Do your best to squelch this sleeping dragon from spiting fire this year. Your paean waits.

In sum, it is an all-inclusive moral duty to back the fire war valours and other concerned agencies with surveillance. Let’s not hesitate to call them on 192 and report budding bush fires.

Collectively, let’s take steps in the direction of putting behind bars this threat and make this year’s drought, free of bush fires . Our vegetations need our conservation. Indeed the storms have subsided, but the drought too will tide with splendour as we say goodbye to the rains and welcome the drought.

Have a good drought day folks!

salam alaik!

Writer Sumaila Mohammed Rashad is a youth activists from Atebubu.

sumailamhmmd@gmail.com 0246640183 Atebubu