ABSTRACT
Sustainable development goal 6 is to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030. Nigeria is unlikely to reach full implementation of the safe water goal that is essential for achieving the other SDGs. Climate change, which has resulted in increased frequency of flooding and droughts, is a critical challenge that is heightening the problems arising from poor environmental practices and policy failures. Such practices include, but are not limited to, dumping of municipal refuse and wastewater in water bodies, open defecation, open grazing, and unchecked oil pollution. The ecological human health risks are extremely high and the burden enormous. There is an urgent need for re-evaluation of Nigeria water policies, revamping of water agencies and infrastructure, and adequate funding of water-related collaborative research. This chapter discusses these challenges and calls for concerted efforts from governments, the private sector, and academia towards ensuring that water bodies are conserved; wastes properly treated; water infrastructure developed; and clean/potable water made available for all in Nigeria.
