The Chad Basin covers an area of about 390,000 sq miles with tributaries from the Chari,Logone and Yobe Rivers.
The Lake Chad in the 1960s has an original depth of 7m and now averages only 1.5m deep.
These changes in size are mainly due to changing climate and reduction of inflow by the major rivers that feed the lake.Lake Chad is part of the Conventional Basin that forms the Lake Chad Basin in Northern Central Africa.
Lake Chad is located in the far west of Chad and North East of Nigeria, parts of the lake extends into Niger and Cameroon, it is situated on the edge of the Sahara Desert and provides vital source of water to human, livestock and wildlife communities.
The Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) was established on the 22nd May 1964 by four countries that borders Lake Chad namely Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad
The Republic of Central Africa joined the organisation in 1996 and Libya was admitted in 2008.
Observer status is held by Sudan , Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo while N’Djamena,the capital of Chad hosts theu Headquarters of the Commission.
The Lake Chad Basin Commissions Mandate is to sustainably and equitably manage the Lake Chad and other bodies of water resources of the Lake Chad Basin, to preserve the ecosystems, to promote regional integration, peace and security across the basin.
The Sahel and Lake Chad Basin regions are grappling with an unprecedented food security and nutrition crises and insecurity which has jeopardised their vast potential. Countries bordering the region must act swiftly to prevent conflict, climate change impacts and economic challenges from disrupting humanitarian efforts and increasing safety risks of both humans, animals and environment.
For decades,Lake Chad Basin countries have been entangled with various forms of insecurity including banditry, abduction, highway robbery and cattle rustling among other challenges.
In addition, the most significant security challenges remain the Boko Haram crisis that has taken more than necessary causing displacement of locals, deaths of animals and lost of arable farmlands to occupation by the terrorist using them as camps,leading to hunger, malnutrition and displacement amidst disease ravaging women and children.
It is a welcome development for the authority of the Chad Basin to have converged with traditional rulers and governors of the frontline states from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger to take steps towards restoring lasting peace to the region.
The traditional rulers at the meeting that held between 27th and 28th January 2025, in Maiduguri, the Borno State Capital and resolved to partner with various governments in the region to tackle the challenges of insurgency,communal conflicts,and impacts of climate change.
Governors and stakeholders are committed to tackling the identified challenges which has induced poverty and inequality among the citizens in the region which has disrupted stability in the past 15years.
It is believed that military power is required to contain the security threats bedeviling the region and scholars have recommended that it must be accompanied by strategies that address the root causes such as disrupted educational system, poverty, inequality, unemployment for the young population in the region among others.
It is only imperative to say, that unless the threats are addressed and security restored before the internally displaced persons can return to their homes and communities. This can be achieved by the deployment of both kinetic and non kinetic capabilities to win the war in the region.
Recovering the Lake Chad goes beyond just fighting the war to finish, but rehabilitation, restructuring, resettlement and also reconstruction of facilities around the lake Chad region that were hitherto destroyed by the terrorists during the period of occupation and re-channelling of the water body from other sources into the lake and dredging of the drying lake to resuscitate fishing, farming and other economic activities for food security and sustainable livelihood of the people of the region.
The restoration of hope in the region will include: declaring an emergency in the region for economic development, food sustainability and peace building, which has reverberating effect on neighboring states of Gombe, Adamawa in the North East,Katsina in the North Central, Jigawa, Kano , Kebbi and Sokoto in the North West and Nigeria in general.
*James Sunday, is a retired Assistant Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service**
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