Ilorin Emirate Youth Development Association, IEYDA, has donated a motorized borehole to the Federal Prison, Oke-Kura, Ilorin, in order to alleviate the age-long water scarcity confronting the community.

The motorized borehole which was donated by a philanthropist in the Ilorin emirate who pleaded anonymity according to the IEYDA is expected to serve the welfare of officers and inmates respectively.

While commissioning the newly sunk borehole, IEYDA President and Public Relations Officer, Alhaji Abdullahi Babatunde Salaudeen and Alhaji Mohammad Uthman Jagunmo respectively, noted that the facility will further make life more meaningful for the people of the community.

According to them, "Visiting the Federal Prison, Oke-Kura, Ilorin, one would notice the excitement and signs of relief on the faces of both the Prison Officials and the inmates.  We thank the donor for spending towards the course of humanity."

In his remark, the Deputy Controller of Prison and Officer In-Charge of Oke-Kura Prison, Ilorin, Mr. Aliu Baba Usman, commended the group for their various interventions in the lives of the downtrodden and also extending such gestures to the Nigeria Prison Service community.

Mr. Usman however enumerated the various challenges confronting the Prison Service and called on well meaning Nigerians to come to the aids of the inmates as they are still part of the community.

According to him, "It is quite overwhelming to have a dynamic and hard working youths doing a very coordinating work, joining the whole community together and bringing the name of their town and the area they represented into lime light. It is a marvelous job and I commend the entire members of Ilorin Emirate Youth Development Association, IEYDA, from A-Z for their marvelous jobs.

"It is popularly said that a tree cannot make a forest, your unity remains your strength. It is because the whole body is united that is why they are achieving this height. And it is therefore in your unity and strength that more of these good deeds can be achieved and more lives will be touched."

The NPS boss further stressed that, "On behalf of the entire officers and men of the Nigeria prison, I thank the IEYDA. Despite the fact that the motorized borehole was donated by a good Samaritan. I see them as the good Samaritan because I only know them and not the donor. The Samaritan didn't come here, I don't know him, but God knows him and I pray God almighty should continue to bless and replenish his pocket."

"We have been facing a lot of problems with water supply in the past before even including the entire Ilorin metropolis. There is no doubt about that as we are not isolated but part of the Ilorin community battling with water scarcity. What affects the entire community also affects us here too.

"The motorized borehole is a big relief for easier accessibility to portable water to complement the little effort of the government so that it will be an ease to the inmates and the entire prison community, we are indeed very grateful."

While enumerating the importance of the borehole, Mr. Usman said: "This project will go a long way to improve the activities going on here. As they say, 'water is life'. You can afford staying without power supply but it becomes very difficult if water is not available. No one survives without water. It will help us a lot ranging from the inmates several daily activities like bathing, cooking, washing and other daily activities. It is encompassing, in fact water is life.

"Though, water is not the only problem we are facing. As you can see, there is no electricity, which is not peculiar to us in Ilorin alone but the country in general. It is everywhere in Nigeria, it is a general problem. One thing is that we can source for other alternatives like the use of generating set which is powered by fuel. To get fuel also is a big problem but this is an alternative. There is different between having solution at hand and not having solution at all."