Water Scarcity Protest: Soldiers shot Four Nassarawa students dead
Picures of soldiers used to quell students’ protest that resulted in the death of four of their colleagues. [Credit: saharareporters.com]
INTRODUCTION
There are well over a hundred universities in Nigeria today and going by information as well as what one sees around on the few universities in urban centers where students can be found carrying buckets of water or empty ones around, it seems time that approvals for setting up universities in Nigeria should not just be based on the strength of academic staff, adequate provision of building facilities for staff and students, etc. but that adequate provision of water for immediate and projected population of a proposed university must be an important item to be check-marked for approval to be granted.
Most government institutions are often built without adequate provision of water. This usually leads to poor sanitation on campus. This is not limited to institutions of higher learning but also secondary schools, etc
For example, the failure to provide students with adequate water has now resulted in the deaths of four students who had joined others in protesting scarcity of water at Nassarawa State University, a protest that was met with undue force by soldiers.
Using soldiers to maintain peace in any community in a democracy is not the right thing to do. Soldiers are trained to fight wars, while the police is used for maintaining law and order. I sympathize with the parents of the students whose lives were cut short as a result of this. Water should be part of the basic human rights of any civilized community and protest to access it should not lead to death.
The story below is from Premium Times and Sahara Reporters.
DEPO ADENLE
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(PHOTOS) Soldiers Shoot Four University Students Dead In Nassarawa-PREMIUM TIMES
By Nnenna Ibeh
Four students of Nassarawa State University were on Monday shot by security operatives during a protest over water scarcity in the institution.
The victims were among the hundreds of students who protested against the scarcity of electricity and water in the school. During the protest, some soldiers invaded the school and started firing shots which left four students dead, a witness said.
Nassarawa State Police Command spokesperson, Michael Ada, confirmed the killing of the students but denied that they were shot by police officers.
He said the commissioner of police in the state was already at the scene.
