Nigeria/Chad seek $50b for Lake Chad

Geoffrey Onyema

Nigeria and the Republic of Chad are seeking a $50 billion aid for the recharging and refilling of the drying Lake Chad.

The two countries have solicited the support of the African Union (AU) and international donors to raise the fund.

The two countries made the call at the Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) on the sidelines of the ongoing 28th AU Summit.

According to Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister, Geoffrey Onyema, there was also an agreement by the two countries to have a formal international donor conference on recharging the lake, as well as having a direct engagement with possible sponsors.

The minister explained that the APRM, comprising 33 countries, was a self-monitoring policy through peer review system to ensure social, economic and political development among member states.

He added that in the peer review process, member states submit themselves to be reviewed by one another, adding that Nigeria had peer-reviewed the Republic of Chad.

Onyema further disclosed that the two issues that came up on the Chad review were the impact of the Boko Haram insurgency and the shrinking of the Lake, both of which adversely affected about 30 million people around the Lake Chad basin.

“We recognised the role that Chad (Republic) has been playing in the framework of the International Joint Task Force and we pointed out the impact of the Boko Haram on the task force.

“On the question of Lake Chad, we pointed out that the Lake had shrunk to about 10 per cent (of its original size) and has had catastrophic effects on the people living in that area, and the challenge is how to address such situation.

“I pointed out that what Nigeria is looking at in that context is the possibility of recharging the Lake from a river from Central Africa, the Rangin River,” the minister stated.

He disclosed that Nigeria had already paid about $5million towards a study on recharging the lake, adding that it would cost about $15 million or more to do a comprehensive feasibility study on recharging of the Lake Chad.

“The cost of recharging is in the neighbourhood of $15billion to $20billion. I pointed out that we are looking at the possibility of organising an international donor conference to look for fund to address this issue.

“On the environmental impact and the negative aspect, the president of Chad, Idriss Deby, followed up with us and also elaborated on the issue, calling on the world to assist us in addressing the Lake Chad issue, because there is ecological issue; there is environmental issue; social issue and, of course, we have seen that we can also have illegal migration of the youth and also war within the area,’’ the minster said.

He further noted that after the discussion, it was agreed that the best way forward was to have a formal international donor conference and that they were ready to engage directly with possible sponsors.