‘ice Water’ Makes A Comeback As Pure Water Goes For N10 Per Sachet

Before the advent of pure water in Nigeria, there was a great patronage for ‘ice water’ by Nigerians who could not afford bottled water. “Ice water”, which was selling for N1 per wrap was very popular in the country until about 20 years ago when sachet water was introduced and it was selling at an affordable price of N5. Those who patronized ice water then were not concerned about standard even as glaring as it is that drinking bad water has its consequences.

Water originates from different sources and not all water we drink is safe. We get water from rainfall, underground, spring, as well as public tap.

It is said that water has no enemy and our forefathers said water is a free gift from God and therefore, no matter the source of water, it cannot kill.

But gradually, people who hitherto patronized “ice water” or any water switched to sachet water following its advent. Many were able to over-look the simple N5 and buy it and with time, patronage grew. The demand for sachet water gave more people the spirit to want to come into pure water business, a move that reduced the rate of unemployment in the country.

But unfortunately, the availability of pure water is gradually becoming a nightmare to Nigerians as the sudden hike in price from N5 to N10 per sachet is now the talk of the day. With the recent increase of the product from N5 to N10 per sachet, consumers who spoke to Saturday Vanguard, said they would rather go back to patronizing “ice water” rather than to purchase the so called “pure water” for N10.

We can do without drinking pure water- Consumers
Consumers have called the bluff of pure water producers, claiming they can do without it and can even purify their own drinking water.

Mrs. Oni Temidayo , a self employed person, said “When there was no sachet water, we were drinking our natural water, and non of us died and if pure water producers say they are not ready to reduce the price of pure water, we are ready to go back to our normal water. It is not compulsory for us to drink pure water and we will not die.

“Our natural water is what our fore-fathers gave to us, we never died and I believe that there will not be any health problem as the case may be. It is even this pure water that has caused lots of health hazards in us. There are lots of quack sachets water producers that are producing water in their living rooms and backyards.

Water that is produced by these people is prone to killing people because it is not treated water. The cost of producing sachet water is not expensive. There are water purifiers everywhere which families could purchase and purify their drinking water and it is cheap. So why the hike? Some of them have reduced their sachets from 50cl to 35-40 cl. What else do they want?”

For Mr. Kingsley who was met eating without drinking water: “I used to take pure water normally each time I come to eat in this restaurant but now that one sachet of pure water is sold for N10, despite that fact that it is the same packaging, no improvement in size, yet they say one sachet water is now sold for N10, for me, I think it is ridiculous. So I decided to abandon it and I know as Nigerians, we will always fight for our right because that is extortion on our part.

We are using this opportunity to tell the producers or whoever is in-charge to help us attend to this problem. They just must go and sit on a roundtable and discuss on the way forward because nobody would want to buy one sachet of pure water for N10, it is not the best. Let them put it back to its normal price because we are not getting value for money even by drinking their pure water.

“How can we be buying one pure water for N10 when one sachet of water is not even enough to drink. Let them also go to the wholesalers who would want to increase the price of pure water and correct them.

“Our government should also ensure that they disallow this policy from being implemented.
We can afford to buy table water at the rate of N60 because it is absolutely treated and clean but most of the pure water producers operate under a single apartment .

As such, some of the pure water are not done in a proper way. Most of them produce below the required standard of NAFDAC’s approval and this set of people, will also want to increase the price of water. It is totally ridiculous. So, for me, I know of pure water companies that are certified and produce good and clean water and I go for the standard ones.

I don’t just drink pure water anyhow. I look out for those ones that I know but I don’t want to mention names. But if they say they are not going back to the normal price which is N5, we can afford to go back and start buying ice water that we have neglected. At least we have been drinking that before pure water came and we still have our lives.”

E.J. Whiteman is a footballer. He was also seen eating without water: “Many people call them pure water, but I do ask people; how pure is the water? That is why I call them poor water, yet they say they want to start selling it for N10. Go to where such sachet water are produced, then you will pity Nigerians.

“Their pure water has increase the high rate of typhoid fever and other water-borne diseases. Non of the producers are living up to their responsibilities to provide potable water to people. When I was told that pure water is N10, I was shocked and said to myself, that there is no place for the poor to live again in Nigeria.

If they can sell pure water for N10, I think the best thing is to scrap the existence of pure water instead of extorting the masses unnecessarily. There are some people who find it difficult to afford buying N5 worth of pure water let alone buying it for N10. I would advise that we go back to the days where we buy ice water.”

Samson Adegboyega, a mechanical engineer who works with DVC limited said he cannot buy one sachet of pure water for N10 because God has given us water freely.

“How would you expect someone who hardly feed to afford to buy one sachet of pure water for N10? When it was sold for five naira, people hardly buy not to talk of now that there is too much hardship in the land. Before now, I used to take pure water as much as I want but now, once I take one sachet, I find it difficult to take another because of the price. The nature of my job necessitates drinking enough water but I think I rather limit myself to what is in my pocket.

“Government should try and make life easy for the less privileged. If government is thinking of rich it should also think about the masses.”

For Mrs. Joseph, there is no benefit in drinking pure water: “What is the essence of selling pure water for N10? There is no big deal in the water they are selling to us. What I can only say is that, hiking the price of pure water will only bring shortage to those who are producing and the dealers because, certainly there will be low demand. If they think that they are doing us favour for increasing the price of sachet water, they are just joking. I know they will loose and they have started losing.

They should sell one sachet of water for N5 so that things can be easier for all of us. There is nothing in the water they are selling, they are selling only the nylon for us and not water. They have even reduced the size of the water compared to what it used to be in the past and yet they are insisting on selling it for N10.”

Patronage has gone down- retailers
For the retailers of pure water, business has changed from what it used to be. Patronage has gone down drastically and those who depend solely on it for a living are complaining.

Mr. John Paul is a retailer: “This sudden increase in sale of pure water has really affected me so much. I cannot do without pure water. I really want government to do something about it. They should retain the normal price and ensure that it is still worth its good quality. For the rich, they can afford to buy one sachet of water for N50, nobody will challenge them but for those who are still feeding from hands to mouth, it is very difficult.

“When it was N5, I used to sell twenty bags a day but now, it is very difficult to sell just one bag before the day is over. My customers are complaining bitterly. I am only selling pure water now just for me to answer present. The demand is very poor because of the increment.”

For Mrs. Ajoke Awogbade, “We voted for this people for them to represent us at the top but unfortunately, they are coming against us. Our affliction is just too much because we can hardly feed. Everybody is talking about pure water, they didn’t remember to talk about the sudden increase in cement. Today one bag of cement is sold for 2,300 naira and we are crying that our landlords are extorting us. Why wouldn’t they extort us when they know that we cannot afford to build one room. It is a pity that those who do not have natural resources like us are enjoying more than us.

We are working like elephants and eating like ants. The government is afflicting us seriously and they have forgotten that God created the poor because of the rich. They are gathering Nigerians’ money and using it for their own selfish interest. They mastermind Nigerians’ policies for their own interest. They never put the masses into consideration for a bit and yet they will say they are on our side.

I am a trader, I know how much I earn in a day but now I hardly realize N100 as profit. The cost of buying one bag of rice is now N7,500 compared to the initial price of N3,000 and N3,500 as well as other commodities. They are collecting the country’s money and sharing it in Abuja, leaving the poor to suffer the agony of no food . It is very bad. They should have mercy on us, see our plight and come to our aids.”

Why we hiked the price of pure water- producers
What actually prompted the sudden hike in price of pure water and what does the future hold for producers of pure water? Saturday Vanguard visited the Lagos State secretariat of the Association of Table Water Producers of Nigeria (ATWAP) and they also lamented that the increase in price of sachet water is beyond their control.

Otunba Ademole Abimbola, the second national vice president of association of Table Water Producers of Nigeria,(ATWAP) told Saturday Vanguard that the production of good water is not cheap.

“We are doing our best to give Nigerians the best. NAFDAC has commended us for a job well done for producing good and quality water. It is a pity that despite all our pain for producing good and quality water, people cannot appreciate us. The producers have been dying in silence. Many pure water companies have closed down because the cost of other variables that go into producing pure water has been on the increase since the past ten years. The cost of nylon which is the major input for water production has gone up from N160 to N420 per kilo. Everybody knows the cost of diesel, and fuel.

The fact that we do not have reliable electricity supply is another major concern. We have to rely on power supply from generator which is only meant to run for two to three hours but which now runs for 24 hours. Sometimes producers who go to the bank for loan find it difficult to pay back all because of these problems.

So factories are folding up every second. If not that NAFDAC is still registering some other companies, you wouldn’t have seen any pure water company in existence again. So people should not cry because when coca cola increased from 15 to 50 naira nobody cried. If they say good pure water is very expensive, they should try poor water and see its repercussion. I will advice those who want cheap water not to commit suicide because cheap water leads to death while good water gives good health.

The cost of producing good quality water is higher than what we are selling in the open market. To decide any price for pure water, the cost of transportation, distribution and the production must be put in place. Every producer has the right to put any price on his water. NAFDAC has commended us that with the true way of packaging clean water that we have employed, we have helped in reducing the imminent water borne diseases and cholera.

“Pure water came into existence because government failed in their primary assignment to give the public good water. If you take samples of water coming from taps and other source to the laboratory, you will see that it is not good for human consumption. So we have taken it upon ourselves and for the fact that it is not everybody that can afford to buy table water, we must provide quality water. We are certain of producing clean and good sachet water for the healthy living of Nigerians.

“To be honest, in the 80s, when the production of pure water began, it used to be produced manually but now it is fully automation. and for any pure water producer to set up a standard and agreeable factory, he or she needs a minimum of 10 million.”

Another producer Mr. Ayoola Adeleke, who the chairman of association of table water producers of Nigeria (ATWAP) spoke on the clean-up exercise and other related problems.: “ For quite some years, Lagos State government have expressed their concern on the menace that waste sachets of water have caused. They said, it is blocking the drainage, canal and also entering the propeller of ship coming to Nigeria.

So in 2006, they introduced the waste nylon buy back programme. The modality of the programme is geared towards ensuring that producers of sachets pure water are obliged to get rid of waste nylon on the street of Lagos. We have been tasking our each member to pay the sum of N30,000 and producers have been complaining bitterly that they are finding it difficult to continue paying such an amount to the state government.

“It is against this background that producers said in order to continue with this programme, there is need to change the price of sachet water from the its initial price of N5 to N10 also considering the fact that, over two decades that pure water production has been in existence, it has remained its normal price despite the increase in all the materials that are used in producing sachet water. Producers have been coping with the increase in price of diesel, nylon, spare parts among other things.

“We are having too tactful task. We are saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that we produce clean and treatable water as well as cleaning up the street of Lagos, so if in the process, we find it necessary to increase the price, so be it.

People who produce nylon find it necessary to increase its price. Even government have find it worthwhile to increase the price of fuel from time to time.

Recently, we organized a seminar for the producers in conjunction with NAFDAC whereby producers are educated on the effective ways of producing clean water, so we are doing our part to ensure that we give Lagosians good clean water and to clean the environment.

When I started this business, a ton of nylon was only two hundred and thirty thousand naira but today, it is about four hundred and fifty thousand naira of the same nylon. Diesel back then was N32 per litre, now sold for N105. Fuel (petrol) was N22 per litre, it is now N70.

People have the right to drink any water they see, we are not discouraging anybody. But what I am saying is that for the fact that, we are saddled with the responsibility to produce good and quality water for people and also maintain the monthly clean up exercise, then we have the right to charge the reasonable price on our product.”

naijacutee:

N10 per satchet? Since when?

Seun:

Wrong! We have a double digit inflation rate yet the cost of pure water has remained 5 naira for almost a decade. The price increase is long overdue. And government failure has nothing to do with this, really. It's just reality. And pure water is purer than the alternatives, to be sincere. NAFDAC goes through a lot of trouble to ensure that they have machines to properly purify the water they package.

somze:

Seun
Some or most of the so called pure water are made in people's backyard . . . or so I hear.

What sort of purification process do they go through?

Seun:

The price increase is surely driven by the cost of the nylon packing and printing. It's overdue anyway.

ztyle:

Kai, 10 card for pure water thing don change 4 naija oh!. . . plz can someone help me with the price of
COCA COLA? (mineral) as in soft drink.

[/quote][quote author=mikabubaka link=topic=125165.msg2148650#msg2148650 date=1208088541]
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Seun:

Wrong! We have a double digit inflation rate yet the cost of pure water has remained 5 naira for almost a decade. The price increase is long overdue. And government failure has nothing to do with this, really. It's just reality. And pure water is purer than the alternatives, to be sincere. NAFDAC goes through a lot of trouble to ensure that they have machines to properly purify the water they package.

spoilt:

N10 for unpure water? That thing is not safe. Drink the water you have boiled in your own house.