Communities in Warwade village of Dutse Local Government Area, Jigawa State, have appealed to the state government to dredge the Warwade Dam, which serves as the major source of livelihood for residents in the area.
They made the appeal in separate interactions with our correspondent, Usman Mohammed Zaria, during a visit to the communities around the dam, which was constructed over fifty years ago under the administration of the former Governor of old Kano State, Audu Bako, during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon.
The dam provides water for Warwade and several surrounding communities, supporting fishing and dry-season farming activities that sustain local families.
Malam Umar Sani, a fisherman in Warwade, said with fishing he is able to take care of his family and meet all his day to day expenses.
He said he earns between 10 and 20,000 Naira per day in profits, as travellers and guests who come into the village, buy a lot of fish from them.
Malam Umar appealed to the jigawa state government to dredge the dam to make it accommodate more fishes and more water that can be used for irrigation.
Also speaking, the village head of Warwade, Malam Musa Ado, said the dam provides employment for youths in the area, thereby preventing them from traveling to other parts of the country to engage in menial jobs.
He said youth in the area rather engage in fishing as well as dry and wet season farming.
Malam Musa however lamented that in the past, government used to supply irrigation machines and deploy extension agents to the village, which it no longer does.
He said of recent officials from the jigawa state government went to the village and announced that the World Bank has released funds to the federal government which will be remitted to the state government for the dredging and reconstruction of embankments and irrigation canals for the dam.
The village head urged the state government to commence the rehabilitation of the dam in good time to enable more communities to benefit from it.
Some years back, the state government had stocked Warwade dam with 300,000 fingerlings to enhance fish production in the area.
Usman Mohammed Zaria
