Nigeria must treat water security as a national security priority because floods, drought, unsafe water, and poor sanitation can fuel displacement, disease outbreaks, conflicts, and economic disruption, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, has said.
Utsev made the declaration on Monday while delivering a lecture, titled “Water Resources Management and Sanitation as Catalysts for Sustainable National Development and Security in Nigeria,” at the National Defence College in Abuja.
The minister said water could no longer be regarded solely as a development concern. He stressed that the management and availability of the resource directly affect food production, public health, livelihoods, and economic stability.
“Water security is national security,” Utsev said.
He advocated its integration into Nigeria’s national security architecture.
He identified flooding, drought, unsafe water, inadequate sanitation, and climate variability as pressures capable of intensifying competition among water users and exposing communities to serious social and economic shocks.
Utsev disclosed that the 2026 Annual Flood Outlook identified 1,249 communities in 176 Local Government Areas across 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as high-risk locations.
He said the scale of the exposure called for improved preparedness, climate-resilient infrastructure, and stronger cooperation among institutions responsible for water, agriculture, health, environment, and security.
The minister also placed irrigation at the centre of Nigeria’s food security strategy. He said unpredictable rainfall had made agricultural production continually dependent on reliable water infrastructure.
According to him, about 154,000 hectares of irrigable land currently support more than 1.6 million farmers, while the government is working to increase irrigation coverage.
“Irrigation development is critical to reducing Nigeria’s dependence on increasingly unpredictable rainfall patterns,” he said.
Utsev also outlined the contribution of River Basin Development Authorities to irrigation, agriculture, fisheries, rural water supply, flood control, employment, agro-processing, and rural economic activity.
He said the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation was developing a National Water Compact for 2026 to 2030 to align water and sanitation policies and interventions.
The proposed framework will rest on three pillars: Water for People, Water for Food, and Water for the Planet.
Utsev explained that the first would concentrate on safe water and sanitation, the second on irrigation and food production, while the third would address climate resilience and sustainable management of water resources.
The minister said the Compact was being prepared through collaboration involving federal and state governments, security agencies, traditional and religious institutions, private-sector operators, development partners, civil society groups, and communities.
He also highlighted transboundary water cooperation. He noted that Nigeria shares significant water resources with neighbouring countries. According to him, effective regional collaboration is essential for stability and sustainable management of shared water systems.
Utsev listed five priorities for improving national water security: incorporating water security into security planning; strengthening intergovernmental coordination; increasing investment and sustainable financing; developing climate resilience and water intelligence; and building the capacity of women and young people.
“The resilience of the systems that sustain the people is fundamental to national security,” he said.
Responding to the lecture, the Commandant of the National Defence College, Rear Admiral Abdullahi Ahmed, described water security as central to national security. He identified flooding, drought and conflicts linked to natural resources as significant security concerns and called for greater utilisation of Nigeria’s freshwater resources and stronger international cooperation.
The lecture was attended by faculty members of the National Defence College, alongside senior officials from the water resources ministry.
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