By Clement Odum
“Water as Life, Labour, and Legacy: Professor Grace Oloukoi Calls for Proactive Management of Urban Water Crises
At the World Habitat Day event held in Lagos, Professor Grace Oloukoi, a distinguished scholar of Urban Planning and Environmental Management at Lead City University, Oyo State, delivered an insightful lecture that redefined how society should perceive and manage water.
Speaking passionately on the theme, she described her vision of “water as farming, water as management, water and women, water and children, and water as work.” For Professor Oloukoi, water is not merely a natural resource — it is a living symbol of continuity, sustenance, and shared human responsibility.
She explained that water represents the rhythm of life itself — flowing through every stage of human existence, connecting ecosystems, communities, and generations. “Our responses to urban crises,” she emphasized, “should no longer be reactional but protective. We should not wait for disasters to happen before acting. We must plan ahead.”
Citing the increasing frequency of floods and water-related challenges in urban centres, she noted that climate events once seen every decade now occur yearly. This, she warned, is a sign that the planet is demanding greater accountability and foresight from humanity. “The ability to plan for water,” she said, “is the ability to preserve life.”
Her message carried a powerful
environmental undertone — that water symbolizes resilience and renewal, yet it also mirrors the fragility of human stewardship. To nurture it is to nurture ourselves; to misuse it is to invite crisis.
Professor Oloukoi’s reflections remind us that the story of water is the story of humanity — one that calls for balance between consumption and conservation, between development and the duty to protect the earth’s most vital element.