Nigerian President Reiterates Importance of Project To Refill Lake Chad

FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

Nigerian President Reiterates Importance of Project To Refill Lake Chad

Oct. 29, 2018 (EIRNS)—Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said that the greatest investment Europe and America can make in Africa now is helping the continent accomplish inter-basin water transfer to recharge Lake Chad. Buhari spoke at State House, Abuja, Oct. 26, while hosting the chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Mahamat.

President Buhari stated that Lake Chad, which provided a means of livelihood to several millions of people in its four bordering countries—Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria—has now been reduced to 10% of its original size.

“People who depended on the lake for fishing, farming, animal husbandry, and many others, have been thrown into dire straits. That is one of the reasons youths now dare [to attempt crossing] the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea, to seek greener pastures in Europe. But helping to recharge Lake Chad will help a great deal in curbing irregular migration,”

he said.

While stating that the size of Nigeria and resources available place a lot of responsibilities on its shoulders, President Buhari pledged that the country would continue to fulfill its obligations to the African Union. “At all international fora, we emphasize the matter of Lake Chad.”