A philanthropist, Alhaji Ahmad Lula, has donated a 50,000-litre motorised-powered borehole, water reticulation system and solar-powered street lights to the Government Arabic Girls Day Arabic Secondary School, Yar’Akija, in Sokoto North Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the facilities were inaugurated by the Sokoto State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Prof. Ladan Ala, in Sokoto.
Speaking at the inauguration, Lula said the intervention was designed to ease the difficulties students face in accessing potable water, improve sanitation and hygiene, and reduce dependence on unsafe water sources.
He said the initiative was conceived to address persistent water scarcity in recognition of the school population and the growing need for potable water, as well as to ensure improved security in the school.
The philanthropist listed the facilities to include a 50,000-litre storage tank, an electricity generator set, a water pumping machine system and a reticulation network designed to supply water to strategic locations within the school premises.
According to him, the interventions are aimed at addressing critical needs in the school, stressing that healthy, peaceful and economically productive communities contribute meaningfully to national security, stability and overall development.
He said the project would also boost girls’ enrolment in the school in recognition of peculiar girls’ needs on hygiene and other livelihoods.
Lula urged the school management to take ownership of the facility, protect it against vandalism and ensure proper maintenance to guarantee its sustainability.
A community leader and Sokoto State Chairman of Ward Development Committees (WDC), Dr Bala Gadanga, said the project was part of proceeds of consultations with community representatives and an assessment of local needs.
Gadanga explained that the community met with UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representatives where they showcased hygiene, water supply and other challenges in the school, while indicating that access to potable water was the school’s most pressing concern.
He said WDC and ‘Yar’Akija Community Forum facilitated community engagements stressing that the sponsor, Lula was a true son of ‘Yar’Akija community as he demonstrated zeal to uplift citizens wellbeing.
According to him, the project was subsequently redesigned to provide a comprehensive water supply system comprising motorised pumping equipment, a storage tank and a distribution network.
He commended the philanthropist for the gesture and urged other wealthy individuals to emulate the effort.
Earlier, Commissioner Ala described the effort as life-saving and urged school authorities to establish an effective management structure to protect and maintain the borehole, equipment, storage tank, pipelines and distribution points against all forms of vandalism.
The school principal, Hajiya Shafa’atu Balarabe, said access to potable water would surely improve living conditions in the school and neighbouring houses.
Balarabe urged teachers and residents to protect and sustain the facility for present and future generations.
A teacher who supervises water in the school, Malam Nura Yasayyadi, said the project would surely ease water difficulties, as management routinely buys jerricans of water from vendors every day.
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