Hybrid water governance in Nigeria: Modelling the integration of traditional institutions through empirical insights and community-led data

Persistent challenges in ensuring reliable access to safe, equitable, and sustainable water services, including inadequate infrastructure, institutional coordination, and uneven service coverage continue to undermine formal governance efforts in Nigeria, despite the presence of statutory agencies, established policy frameworks, legal provisions, and regulatory instruments. This study aims to design an integrated model that formally incorporates traditional institutions, long-standing, culturally legitimate actors with deep community trust, into Nigeria’s water governance framework. By employing a bimodal research approach, this study combines an extensive literature review, which traces the historical and contemporary roles of traditional institutions in water governance in Nigeria and across Africa and Asia, with a cross-zonal online survey, capturing community perspectives. The literature reveals that traditional institutions have historically played pivotal roles in water resource management through community-led systems, yet their contributions remain largely informal and underrecognized in policy discourse. The national survey with over 85% youth participation and representation from all six geopolitical zones highlights widespread support for hybrid governance models that integrate traditional and state systems. Respondents emphasized the roles of traditional leaders in community mobilization, infrastructure provision, and cultural enforcement, while also identifying challenges such as limited technical expertise, short-term interventions, and inadequate institutional support. The resulting model comprises four interrelated components: institutional integration, capacity and knowledge development, community engagement, and equity and inclusivity. By providing a structured framework for integrating traditional institutions into water governance, this study advances hybrid governance, offering a context-sensitive approach to addressing persistent water governance challenges in Nigeria.