The brazen actions of the Lagos State government in shutting down companies struggling to stay afloat, retain their workforce, and serve the public are both baffling and infuriating. 

How can a government, which has utterly failed in its duty to provide potable water, muster the audacity to penalise private businesses investing millions to source their water for operations? Even more outrageous is that this same government collects water fees from residents for a service it doesn’t render. How can you justify collecting fees for non-existent services? Revenue generation is necessary but comes with a fundamental obligation: responsibility.

It has become obvious that governments at all levels—local, state, and federal—are obsessed with finding new ways to generate revenue, often at the expense of the people. But what benefits do the citizens of Lagos derive from these revenue-generating schemes? Are Lagosians truly content with paying water fees while spending their hard-earned money drilling boreholes, installing tanks, and maintaining pumping machines to secure the water the government fails to provide?

Taking money without delivering goods or services is unlawful, plain and simple. No law the Lagos State government enacts to justify this practice will stand in court. The Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LSWRC) grossly overstepped its authority by shutting down operations at Nigerian Bottling Company Plc, Guinness Nigeria Plc, and Friesland Campina WAMCO Nigeria Plc. 

The claim that these companies violated water usage regulations is, at best, baseless and unconstitutional. What alternatives do these businesses have? Should they close their factories, lay off workers, and wait indefinitely for the Lagos State Water Corporation to revive its long-dead water supply services?

During my visit to Lagos in November 2024, I observed households in the Tom Jones-Idumagbo axis spending between ₦2,000 and ₦3,000 every few days on water sold by street vendors. This water barely lasts three or four days, depending on household size. 

Why make life unnecessarily difficult for the people? Why is the LSWRC so determined to push workers at these companies into unemployment? Must Lagos follow in the footsteps of Dunlop, Procter & Gamble, and Michelin, which were driven out of Nigeria, and Unilever, which scaled down operations? Should LSWRC be allowed to add more workers to the already saturated unemployment market?

The crime of “unauthorised groundwater use” is an absurd creation of a failed system. It defies logic for a government incapable of providing water to prohibit citizens and businesses from sourcing their own. Isn’t it the government’s responsibility to supply water? In the past, water flowed freely from public taps across Lagos. 

The late Alhaji Lateef Jakande, fondly remembered as one of Lagos State’s most visionary governors, expanded water infrastructure, including the Iju Water Works. This facility, commissioned in 1915 by Governor-General Frederick Lugard, once provided millions of gallons of water daily. 

What happened to that legacy?

Today, companies and homeowners are being extorted for services they don’t receive. It is immoral and incomprehensible that businesses can be shut down for seeking alternatives to a failed water system. The goal appears to be coercing citizens into paying for what is not provided, an unethical and cruel practice.

The Lagos State government should focus on creating jobs rather than eliminating them. As Nigeria’s economic hub, Lagos can collaborate with organisations like the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) to generate employment opportunities. 

The government should offer incentives to attract multinationals to the state, fostering industrial growth and reducing unemployment. With thousands of youths roaming the streets searching for jobs, Lagos should be a leader in job creation, not destruction.

If Lagos State genuinely seeks to generate revenue, it must do so responsibly—by providing value to its citizens and working collaboratively to grow the economy. Anything less is a betrayal of public trust.

Babatunde Ajayi is a Nigerian based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada