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Fifteen million Nigerians are in danger of losing their means of livelihood as Lake Chad continues to shrink.
The majority of the 30 million people living in the area are farmers and fishermen who are dependent on the lake for water.
Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Lake Chad, Mr. Abubakar Wambai, said at the 2012 Lake Chad Day in Abuja on Tuesday that the threat posed to the socio-economic lives of the inhabitants by the receding lake could create security problems for the countries in the region.
The programme with theme ‘Let us strive to save the Lake Chad’, was attended by representatives of the six countries making up the Lake Chad Basin Commission.
The countries are Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Niger and Libya.
The lawmaker lamented that the lake had receded to less than five per cent of its 1964 size, adding that if urgent steps were not taken to stem the tide, the inhabitants could face food crisis.
Figures from the Ministry of Water Resources show that of the 30 million people living in the region, 50 per cent are Nigerians.
Wambai said, “Today marks the 48th anniversary of the birth of the LCBC, a body established on May 22, 1964 as a proactive and visionary strategy aimed at ensuring sustainability and equity in the utilisation and management of shared resources within the region.
“However, it is sad to note that at the age of 48, the commission is still more or less a glorified adult, with wobbling legs, unable to take the giant stride that would change the dwindling fortunes of the basin.
“The lake and its basin are faced with ever increasing challenges caused by both human and natural factors as it has receded to less than five per cent of its 1964 size.
“The continuing recession poses imminent threat not only to the 30 million inhabitants but a potential danger to the world ecology and age-long socio-political relationships.”
He however commended the effort of President Goodluck Jonathan in championing the re-positioning of the LCBC.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe, put the cost of rescucitating the lake at $14.6bn.
Culled from The Punch.
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Simply Cheska...
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