‘Pure Water’ Nigeria

By Kenneth Nwachinemelu David-Okafor

CREATIVITY and INNOVATION can yield a country several benefits ranging from the economic to the reputational. There is a surfeit of evidence to support this assertion. On this blog, we would examine many of them. Nations have risen and fallen on account of creativity and innovation, and lack of it. CREATIVITY and INNOVATION are therefore worthy pursuits; many countries have thus invested in the deliberate strategy of promoting a culture of creativity and innovation.

Let us briefly reflect on what level Nigeria is at – on the creativity and innovation field. At the individual levels perhaps the country has been far more successful.

I will use the example of ‘Pure Water’ for the analysis to mirror the state of CREATIVITY and INNOVATION in Nigeria.

What has ‘Pure Water’ got to do with CREATIVITY and INNOVATION you may ask? I want to use the ‘Pure Water’ saturation in the social sphere as a metaphor.

For the non-native let me start with a brief description and then some history lesson. ‘Pure Water’, as packaged and sold in Nigeria, is potable water inside sealed polythene bag and sometimes PET bottles, usually in 500ml sizes, packaged for consumption, sold for between ₦10 to ₦50. The history part of it is that ‘Pure Water’ production started in the 90s (now this is debatable). However two university dons, Messrs M. Adetunji Babatunde and M. Ilias Biala of the Department of Economics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria have in their 2010 study Externality Effects of Sachet Water Consumption and the Choice of Policy Instruments in Nigeria: Evidence from Kwara State established a timeline for the production and proliferation of ‘Pure Water’. See  http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/JE/JE-01-0-000-10-Web/JE-01-2-000-10-PDF/JE-01-2-113-10-017-Babatunde-M-A/JE-01-2-113-10-017-Babatunde-M-A-Tt.pdf

However what I know for sure, because I lived in the world that was close to those origins then between Oyo and Lagos States, was that the first set of people to sell ‘Pure Water’ in the 90s were street hawkers, usually school age girls, vending water tied in polythene nylon bags which had been stored in refrigerators overnight or packed with crushed ice blocks to keep them chilled. They were indeed godsend for travellers / commuters and equally a menace to harried drivers trying to weave through crawling traffic on gridlocked roads.

The ‘Pure Water’ phenomenon arose to meet a specific need: lack of safe drinking water from public water supply systems across the country. In this sense, the arrival of the ‘Pure Water’ was innovative.

The Nigerian government at all levels had for ever struggled to provide safe drinking water for the teeming and thirsty population. ‘Pure Water’ producers and sellers stepped into the gaping void. But for the nuisance value of the packaging which is difficult to dispose and recycle, ‘Pure Water’ has mostly positive effects.

However, this is how far the innovation went and then stopped. Nigeria is now a country stuck with ‘Pure Water’ and everybody else has resorted to producing ‘Pure Water’. There is hardly any other business in town with very indigenous roots.

In PUNCH Newspaper report on April 18, 2012 the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Control was said to have described pure water business as a huge business that generates more than ₦7bn daily for Nigeria. See http://www.punchng.com/health/pure-water-business-generates-n7bn-daily-nafdac/. I am sure the Director-General has his fact straight. ‘Pure Water’ either in sachets or more dignified PET bottles are good for those who into small scale and non-capital intensive Small and Medium Scale Enterprises. I commend all those who are doing this and making a living from it.

One the other hand not everyone is excited about the ‘Pure Water’ phenomenon.

Let me quote Churchill Okonkwo who posted the write up entitled Nigeria: A Country of “Pure Water” Cities on Sahara Reporters on March 28, 2011, “The first time I felt the need to bring this forgotten problem of the failure of political economy in Nigeria to adequately provide clean water to citizens was in spring of 2009. In a class on environment and development at American University, a Ghanaian in my class worried by the environmental impact of polythene waste from ‘pure water’ usage in Ghana, blamed Nigerians for exporting that business to her country.  I however quickly made it known to her that while it is easy to blame Nigerians for environmental nuisance from ‘pure water,’ the main culprits – Ghanaians municipals – who failed to provide potable water to city dwellers are spared.  I made it clear to her that Nigerian business man brought their trade to Ghana simply because there was a vacuum begging to be filled.” See http://saharareporters.com/article/nigeria-country-%E2%80%9Cpure-water%E2%80%9D-cities

It is not only Ghanaians that resent the problem of discarded ‘Pure Water’ sachets.

Actually the study I referred to above from the University of Ibadan lecturers was based on this fact. The researchers concluded that “The externalities discovered from sachet water consumption are of three dimensions namely, land water and air pollution. The used sachets littered round the environment to cause land pollution, which could result in unsightly environment, and diseases. Poor disposal of emptied sachets threatens the public health, harbours and encourages diseases, pests; and turn urban areas, even villages, into unsightly, dirty and unwholesome places to live in for both the consumers and non-consumers of sachet water. It was discovered that inadequacies of public water supply in terms of quality and quantity led to the evolution of packaged water industry. It is the inability of the Government to persistently provide adequate potable water for its growing population that precipitated the emergence and proliferation of the sachet water production in the country.”

In his blog in Daily Times Nigeria of October 25, 2011, Jude Ezue on The Menace of ‘Pure Water’ wrote “Sachet water, popularly called pure water in Nigeria (though I have always questioned the purity of such waters) has become an everyday intake for an average Nigerian. From Kano to Enugu, the evidence of this is seen in the amount of disposed sachets littering these cities. What Nigerians and out government has failed to address is the impact of these plastic bags on our environment. These are non-degradable materials that have the potential to remain buried in the soil for years to come. It is more alarming when you consider the many products that rely on plastic bags for packaging. Where do all these plastic find their way? The environment of course! It is a common thing to see our roads flooded with these plastic wastes at any slight shower, drainages bubbling with them and arable land made barren by these plastics.” See http://www.dailytimes.com.ng/blog/menace-%E2%80%98pure-water%E2%80%99

Then, there is a potential health risk to consider.

According to a report published on March 12, 2013 in Information Nigeria, Sachet ‘Pure’ Water Exposed To Heat Can Be Cancerous – Expert Prof. Amobi Ilika, the Director of Community and Public Medicine at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, has advised those who consume sachet water (popularly called pure water) exposed to heat to be wary in order to avoid drinking cancerous substances.  “The most important is the deterioration of the water while in polythene bags made of synthetic petroleum; since the polythene bags are weather-sensitive. Some of the properties of the polythene bags made of synthetic petroleum product materials melt into the water after sun-ray or heat exposure. Thus, carcinogenic materials will drop into the water. The polythene bags also develop germs and micro organisms which enter the water through the deterioration of the polythene bag.’’

Add to all of the above the fear of possible dodgy and adulterated products.

Writing in his blog Postcard from Lagos on August 24 2009 under the caption The 7 Wonders of Nigeria - Pure Water, Gbenga Badejo wrote, “Nigerians have a way of adulterating anything. For example, ‘pure water’ which is the name given to water sold in plastic sachets is anything but pure. Practically anyone can start a ‘pure water’ business; all that is required is to dig a well in the backyard and buy a sealing machine. However, NAFDAC, the agency that oversees food and drugs administration has done some work in cleaning up the industry although this is scarcely an invitation to drink ‘pure water’.” See http://www.postcardfromlagos.com/2009/08/7-wonders-of-nigeria-pure-water.html

Pure Water Seller INSET Pure Water sachet

Finally, trust that the Nigerian government would try to spoil the party for everybody.

An alarmist headline in Wazobia Report on April 03, 2012 read thus Water Shortage Fear Hits Nigeria As Everyone Goes Into Pure Water Business. The report read that “The Federal Ministry of Water has announced a sudden surge in water demand leading to fear of water shortage hitting those homes in Nigeria that usually get water. Officials of the ministry are blaming the unprecedented pressure on water supply on a great number of Nigerians suddenly starting up pure water businesses. This in turn they have blamed on the revelation in court by a lady accused of embezzling ₦14.5 billion meant for the payment of pensions, that she made US$544,632 found in her account from pure water business.”

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against ‘Pure Water’ business, but I am not excited that the problem solving thought that led to the packaging of water for a thirsty populace has faltered and not led to anything deeper and grand. The success and the popularity of ‘Pure Water’ business in Nigeria only serves to portray the country as a land full of copycats rather than originators. If you cross check from vulcanising tyres, email scams and even kidnapping, you will see irrefutable evidence of a dearth of original thinking.

Now here is my own proposition; for the 21st Century Nigeria should be more ambitious and daring. Let us get truly creative and innovative.

John Kao, an author and strategic advisor whose work concentrates on issues of innovation and organizational transformation, and once a Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton Advisor, in his book ‘Jamming: The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity’ lists a number of reasons why creativity is important today. His very first item declares "This is the age of creativity because that's where information technology wants us to go next".

I agree with John Kao. However, this blog is going to go further to explore how our creativity is ‘blocked’ in a variety ways, including deep-seated beliefs about the world. Many people both educated and otherwise often think that creativity is a serious analytical task limited to certain disciplines such as Research & Development (R&D) and the like. This could not be further from the truth.

CREATIVITY IS IMPORTANT TODAY EVERYWHERE IN SOCIETY.

Creativity forms the core activity of a growing section of the global economy—the so-called “creative industries”—capitalistically generating (generally non-tangible) wealth through the creation and exploitation of INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY or through the provision of creative services.

Creative professions include writing, art, design, theater, television, radio, motion pictures, related crafts, as well as marketing, strategy, some aspects of scientific research and development, product development, some types of teaching and curriculum design, and more.  Creativity is also seen as being increasingly important in a variety of other professions. Architecture and industrial design are the fields most often associated with creativity, and more generally the fields of design and design research. These fields explicitly value creativity, and journals such as Design Studies have published many studies on creativity and creative problem solving.

Scholars have shown how some of the major scientific advances of the 20th century can be attributed to the creativity of individuals. This ability will also be seen as increasingly important for engineers in years to come.

In a recent global survey of approximately 1600 CEO's, the leadership trait that was considered to be most crucial for success was creativity. This suggests that the world of business is beginning to accept that creativity is of value in a diversity of industries, rather than being simply the preserve of the creative industries.

I am casting my eye at our universities, at our non-existent R&D, at our various ‘mechanic villages’ across the states, at Nollywood, at opportunities for software development (please not the Oluwole style), at the music industry, at our comatose manufacturing sector, etc and I see great potentials.

The big question is: WHAT DO YOU SEE?