Some years ago, the Lake-Chad Basin, which comprises of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic, was among one of the thriving economic zones in Africa.
With its rich natural and human resources and vast landmass, the basin was a hub for cross border trade, cultural exchanges and intra-Africa travels for its 45 million people.
Sadly, the basin has been a shadow of itself in the past 15 years that insurgency and violence have crippled it.
For many years now, it has been suffocating under the firm grip of terrorism championed by the Boko-Haram, Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), and new groups that keep emerging to scramble for a share of the violence, which has become an enterprise.
From villages, to towns and country to country across the Chad Basin, it has been same untold stories by the helpless people.
Severally, the people have been sacked from their ancestral homes by the terrorists, their farms raided, business burnt, sources of livelihood cut off.
Yet, many have not recovered from the trauma of witnessing a father’s death, wives and daughters being raped, sons taken away and forced to join the terrorist groups.
As expected, the sustained attacks by the terrorists in the basin have resulted in huge refugees, who are daily fleeing to neighbouing towns and countries, especially Niger Republic, for safety of their lives.
Of course, the influx of refugees from Nigeria and Cameroon has also compounded the hunger situations in Niger Republic, as the country hosts the largest number of refugees in the region.
But, while the basin is still being weighed down under the grip of terrorism, climate change is also dealing a deadly blow on it.
In recent times, the basin has recorded an alarming rate of natural disasters, especially desertification, flooding and depletion of freshwater resources, while human activities such as bush burning, displacement of people and influx of migrants have pushed the countries in the region into hunger due to the negative impact on agro-pastoral production.
Read also: Nigerian Air Force strikes terrorist hideouts in Lake Chad
“Insurgency and burning of our lands have denied us access to farmlands, and also ability to farm to feed our families,” Yari Inusa, a Maiduguri resident decried.
It is also worrisome that Chad is withdrawing from the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), a regional coalition with Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, established to counter Boko Haram and other insurgent threats in the Lake Chad Basin region.
The sad move by Chad followed the recent attack on a Chadian frontline base that claimed the lives of 40 soldiers, sparking an urgent response from the Chadian government.
In response to the attack, Mahamat Déby, president of Chad, announced withdrawal from the MNJTF.
With the decision, Chad now leads its own intensified air and ground operations to expel insurgents from its territory.
As Musa Jallo, a West African security expert, observed, Chad’s withdrawal poses major challenge for regional security, as its military has been essential in curbing cross-border insurgent movements.
Read also: MNJTF debunks ISWAP’s claims of protection in Lake Chad Region
The country’s exit, according to him, weakens border control and creates gaps in the defense network, giving militant groups new opportunities to regroup and intensify attacks across the Lake Chad region.
“Chad’s highly effective counter-insurgency forces have historically been critical to regional stability. Without their support, other MNJTF states, especially Nigeria, face heightened pressure to bridge the security void,” the expert noted.
The development could stretch the lean military resources, reduce response time and complicate logistics. In Nigeria, there are concerns that the country, which is already strained by the efforts to counter banditry in the North West and North-Central, may struggle to adequately contain the insurgent influx in the North-East.
Again, shifts in Chad’s alliances could also prompt changes in MNJTF’s operational strategy, possibly requiring international support to sustain its efforts.
Additionally, Chad’s exit could destabilize local governance, as large areas in the northern part of Borno State and surrounding regions are left without a strong governmental presence.
The instability, according to Ilya Idrissu, a retired military intelligence officer, might call for a larger humanitarian response to address food, shelter, and security needs in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states respectively.
Speaking on challenges facing the region, Ahmed Shehu, chairman, Civil Society Organization in the Lake Chad Basin region, expressed dismay over the inability of stakeholders to implement policies due to lack of political will and instability among the member states, which resulted in little progress on the implementation of polices over the years.
“It is like we are doing the same thing over and over again and then expecting a different result, which is actually not going to be possible. At the beginning, there were lots of passion, commitment and support by international bodies, sub-national, national agencies to the Lake Chad Basin. However, the differences in the countries, especially leadership structures, are impediments.
“This has been identified and agreed at different forums, and that is why they came up with the aspect about having the regional cooperation, and that is one of the objectives that the Lake Chad governors forum was formed,” he said.
He explained that the forum promised to fight against terrorists in states that are affected by the problem of insurgency in the region, Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states in Nigeria, Niger Republic, Cameroon, and then Chad, which has achieved little in terms of its objectives.
“For civil society organizations, at the end of the conferences, the commitment and other things end there due to lack of community engagement and commitment from the policy makers. The civil societies were invited just to tick the box because we are there, and hosted as representative of the people.
“But we are demanding more than that. There are a lot of needs that were identified from the communities, which need to be consulted in the rebuilding of their homes.
“One thing is to have the document, another is to develop a strategy and mostly determination to implement it, especially in terms of an accountable and transparent process.
“So, what I am trying to say here is that the regional cooperation needs to be strengthened. Chad is trying to pull out for the Multinational Joint Tasks Force due to some reasons that are very visible. They want to see something happening, not talkshop and eye service.
“Chad President is going out to fight for himself, just like what happened two days ago in the case of Doron Baga borders. So, our differences make it difficult to come together, but we can learn a lot of lessons if we are determined to work together,” he noted.
Usman Aliyu, humanitarian and environmental activist, warned that limited pasture for farming and desertification are hugely impacting climate change, amid the receding of Lake Chad.
He is worried that lack of access to adequate farmland and fishing for the fishermen are further contributing to the insurgency as well as joblessness and poverty that have been ravaging the region.
“The shrinking of Lake Chad Basin is one of the causes of the insurgency. In 1980s, the lake could feed the entire nation, but it is less than 5,000 kilometers now. Farmers and herders don’t have access to pasture again.
“Fishermen can no longer fish; so an idle man is the devil’s workshop. And what do you expect, crisis all over for a limited resource,” he said.
He lamented further that the insurgency has greatly contributed to climate change in the region, coupled with the alarming rate of depletion of trees, which he described as one of the factors responsible for climate change.
“Insurgency is depleting our forests, our plants and trees are being cut at an alarming rate. If you look at it from the insurgent and the military sides, both clear the land in order to have visibility for attacks. So, indiscriminate bush burning is one of the factors that contribute to climate change.
“The insurgency has also not allowed people to go to the farms because of the fear of being attacked and kidnapped. So, what remains as a source of livelihood for a common man is to cut down tree and sell as firewood or burn it halfway to certain percentage and use it as charcoal. This is in an alarming rate, and you cannot also blame the government alone.
“When agricultural production has been affected, definitely it will compromise food security. If care is not taken, another phase of conflict will rise.
“That is the feudalism. If you have ever heard of feudalism or Latino system, everybody will start claiming the little land available or productive land as his forefather’s land. There is another form of conflict coming as a result of the receding of the Lake Chad shore, and it will also led to another phase of insurgency, if we do not mitigate the impact of this climate change and recharging the Lake Chad.
“It is quite expensive, it is capital intensive. But if we need a sound environment, there is a need to recharge the shore of Lake-Chad in order to provide abundant water for fishing, for agricultural production and also conducive land for people to live in. In addition to that, there is a need for massive afforestation, which is key in combating desertification.
“It is imperative for the leaders across the Lake Chad Basin region to rise up and protect the region,” Aliyu warned.
Speaking at the 3rd Annual International Forum on the Development of the Lake Chad Basin, which held recently on the theme, “Enhancing Local Governance and Social Cohesion for Socio-Economic Development, and Food Security in Changing in the Lake Chad Region” in N’Djamena, Alkali Mohammed Goni, managing director and CEO, North-East Development Commission (NEDC), presented a copy of a master plan to the Lake Chad Basin Commission to tackle the complex issues affecting the region. Stressing that the comprehensive plan of the NEDC aims to drive long term economic growth for the region, he noted that the region has been grappling with numerous challenges, from insecurity to climate change and economic development.
“The 10-year plan has 11 pillars covering agriculture, education, industrialization and more. There is going to be an operational team that will look at it critically, it must happen in the areas where the two commissions can collaborate, especially in the short term areas.
“The document drawn in 2022 has more than 500 programmes and projects with four phases, which include recovery and stabilization, renewal, expansion and sustainable growth.”
He said that the NEDC was intensifying the sustainable implementation of the programmes tailored towards specific needs of the six states in the region, supplementing humanitarian interventions and disaster support.
Alkali noted that the Northeast presents a compelling case for environmental concern due to its vast landmass, desertification, pollution, and climate change, as well as the shrinking of Lake Chad, ungoverned spaces, insurgency, and attendant fragility.
He noted that the fragility undermined food security and security of lives and property, saying that agriculture and trade, the two most important livelihood activities sustaining the region, have been greatly undermined.
“The region’s heightened herdsmen-farmers conflict is largely ascribed to environmental degradation, Lake Chad’s recession, and human-induced activities such as mining, deforestation, irrigation, and dam constructions.
“In the light of the aforementioned issues, the North East Development Commission has continued to disseminate its North East Stabilization and Development Master Plan to development partners globally for effective implementation”.
Mamman Nuhu, executive secretary of the commission, pointed out that there is a window for everybody in terms of the 9 pillars out of the 40 strategic objectives of the regional stabilization strategy; everybody can come in with a plan.
“The only limitation we have is funding otherwise it is an excellent plan and it is adaptive. It is also in line with the Lake Chad Basin Commission Regional Stabilization Strategy which was developed in the year 2018,” he said.
He explained that issues of development, conflict, fragility and violence affecting member states, require collaboration with local authorities. “Local governance is important. In fact, we cannot achieve anything without the full cooperation and collaboration of local governments”.
Although the adoptable recommendations from some stakeholders in the region include, sincere fight against insurgency, political stability, women inclusion in government, and massive investment in agriculture; yet the activities of extremist groups, conflicts and natural disasters have made the Lake Chad region a dreaded area with millions displaced and property destroyed.
Sadly, the horror seems unending.
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