Adopting a human rights-based approach to access to water in Nigeria : lessons from selected jurisdictions

Abstract

Based on the assumption that water is a human right that the Nigerian government is obliged to fulfil, this thesis begins with a historical overview of the development of a human right to water. This description provides the background against which a human rights-based approach to water is conceptualised. I argue that the Nigerian government supports the human right to water on the international stage but has failed to maintain a legal and institutional framework that supports a human right to water domestically. A legal analysis of the current state of access to water in Nigeria shows that there are inadequate laws that contribute to the poor access to water in Nigeria. I, therefore, propose the recognition of the human right to water and the adoption of a human rights-based approach to water in Nigeria. I identify South Africa and Kenya as comparators having constitutionalised the human right to water in addition to having developed promising practices of a human rights-based approach to water with implications for Nigeria. Although past studies on access to water in Nigeria have been examined from an environmental perspective, I argue that an environmental perspective to access to water does not consider all the necessary elements, which may guarantee access to water. I address the challenges of access to water from a human rights perspective since Nigeria is a signatory to all the international instruments that recognise water as a human right. I suggest recommendations that may help realise access to domestic water in Nigeria.