Residents of the Demsa community say they still depend on a contaminated pond shared with livestock while state money continues to chase prestige projects instead of basic survival.
Sabon Pegi in Demsa Local Government Area of Adamawa State represents a stark failure of governance. Authorities have neglected the basic duty of providing safe drinking water.
Residents say their only water source is a stagnant pond shared with pigs, cattle, and other animals. This situation turns everyday survival into a humiliation.
The wider crisis is not isolated. Adamawa has faced repeated warnings over water insecurity. The state also deals with poor quality sources and strained rural infrastructure. Meanwhile, the state advertises development progress elsewhere.
The politics around this tragedy are what make it harder to swallow. In 2025, the Adamawa State Government approved a N22.8 billion virement within its N486.2 billion budget, directing funds to several infrastructure and public-interest projects.
Separate reporting also showed that Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri flagged off an N18.972 billion International Conference and Events Centre in Yola, a prestige project sold as a future investment magnet.
Critics now point to that spending pattern. They ask why a community in the same state still drinks from a dirty pond.
The residents’ complaint is simple and devastating. According to the report circulating online, families in Sabon Pegi have been fetching water from the same pond for generations.
One woman said her parents used it. Now her own children use it. Election promises of boreholes have repeatedly vanished once votes were counted.
Another resident described a familiar pattern of campaign-season pledges followed by silence after victory. These are not just emotional complaints.
They express the language of abandonment. They reveal how local communities can be trapped for decades. This happens when public accountability is weak.
The health risks are obvious. The community’s only source of drinking water faces contamination from direct animal access. Muddy runoff contributes to this issue. Seasonal shrinkage concentrates dirt and waste, exacerbating the problem.
The International Water Management Institute’s work in Adamawa has already documented that ponds remain among the sources households use. It also found concerns over quality. The institute reported that people and animals often end up sharing the same water resources.
The institute warned that such conditions lead to poor sanitation. These conditions also increase waterborne disease risks, including cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, and other infections.
This is where the official record becomes impossible to ignore. Adamawa’s own budget documents show that the state has made repeated water and sanitation allocations. These include boreholes, WASH coordination, borehole renovation, water schemes, and other water delivery items.
The same budget performance report also lists a N150 million project for the construction of Sabon Pegi road and drainages in Yola. It also includes multiple WASH and water supply provisions across the state.
In other words, the issue is not a total absence of spending. It is whether that spending has reached the people who are still drinking unsafe water.
That question matters even more because Adamawa officials have publicly acknowledged Demsa as a place of ongoing development focus.
The state government reports that the governor has met stakeholders in Demsa. They focused on reviewing developmental strides. The governor also reaffirmed his commitment to sustainable growth. But the image from Sabon Pegi suggests that development, as experienced by rural households, remains deeply uneven.
A government can point to roads, gates, event centres and other visible projects. However, it can still fail at the quieter, more important task. This task is to ensure that children do not have to queue at a contaminated pond to survive the day.
The more troubling issue is that this neglect is not new. IWMI’s 2024 findings in Adamawa reported regarding accessibility. Only about two in every five surveyed households said their water sources were moderately accessible and reliable. However, quality remained a concern.
The same study argued that investment in water infrastructure is essential. It also emphasized the need for better governance and stronger community accountability. These elements are crucial to securing clean water and protecting public health.
Sabon Pegi thus looks less like an isolated complaint. It is more like proof that the recommendations are still not being translated into life on the ground.
For Adamawa, the test is not another ribbon cutting. The test is whether the state can provide a safe water source to a rural settlement. This settlement has already waited too long.
That means a proper borehole. It involves rehabilitation of failed water infrastructure. Routine maintenance and community oversight are also necessary. We need a serious audit of why basic needs keep losing out to visible prestige spending.
The pond in Sabon Pegi will remain as residents say it has always been. It serves as a daily reminder that public office has failed where it matters most. Until a change happens, this situation persists.
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