Receding Lake Chad Leaves 40 Million Jobless, Says Minister

Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim

Receding Lake Chad has left about 40 million youths restive and exposed to poverty and unemployment in the West African and Central African sub regions, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Khadija Ibrahim, said on Monday.

Map showing how Lake Chad has receded over time - une.org-dewa-vitalwater (CLICK FOR LARGE IMAGE)

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The minister, who noted that this had often contributed to the insecurity and strive on the African continent, said the most affected countries as a result of the recession of the Lake included Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

Ibrahim, who was represented by Ambassador Ahmed Gusau, said this while delivering a Keynote Address at a workshop organized by the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa with the theme, “Water Resources and Sustainable Environmental Management in the ECOWAS region” in Maiduguri.

The minister said there was urgent need to brainstorm on the lingering issues of water resources and environmental management in the ECOWAS region.

She said many technical experts were brought together to brainstorm and fashion out an enduring solution to the poverty, unemployment and insecurity challenges caused by the problem.

The minister lamented that though the problems of water recession and environmental degradation had been addressed by international organizations including the African Union, New Partnership for Africa’s Development and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organizations, the challenges persisted.

The other dangerous angle to the receding lake, according to her, “is the devastation of the ecosystem caused by environmental degradation through refuse dump on coastal lines which emits toxins that are injurious to human health.”

She noted that environmental pollution had been identified as the major reason for the depletion of the ozone layer with harmful radiation on human health.

The minister added, “This has rendered many people homeless and by extension contributed to poverty, hunger, depression, unemployment, conflicts and total economic recession in the ECOWAS region.”

The minister, however, assured stakeholders of the Federal Government support and in addressing the issue of receding Lake Chad, River Niger and any threat to the coastal line to reduce the menace of water recession and environmental degradation.

The Vice-Chancellor, University of Maiduguri, Prof. Ibrahim Njodi, who was the chairman of the occasion, said that the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East was a symptom of the challenges of water resource management in the Lake Chad Basin Areas.