N’Djamena has been hosting since Wednesday, July 5th, the fourth Forum of Governors of the four riparian countries of the Lake Chad Basin, namely Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad.
Meetings placed under the theme “opportunities for consolidation and progress in a changing security context”, and will allow the various countries and their partners to reflect on the stabilization of this region which is facing the effects of climate change and which has regained relative calm after years of unrest caused by Boko Haram.
This is for the LCBC, the Lake Chad Basin Commission, to propose a plan for the reconstruction of the region, victim of both climate change and the Boko Haram insurgency.
“If in only one of the countries, Boko Haram remains, that means that we are not at the end of our troubles”, explains Midjiyawa Bakari, the governor of the Far North region of Cameroon. But Boko Haram is “beating the wing”, and the situation is improving according to the governor.
To do this, the problems must be tackled at the root and solutions found, “It’s the scarcity of water in the Lake Chad basin, the agro-pastoral conflict in the Logone valley… people must integrate the fight against climate change, i.e. producing a lot with few means.
The African Union recognizes the efforts of the countries bordering Lake Chad in fighting Boko Haram. However, it urges them to do more by ensuring the protection of vulnerable populations, according to Adeoye Bankole, African Union Commission Commissioner for Political Affairs and Peace. In an address to governors, Mamman Nuhu, Executive Secretary of the LCBC, has urged them to utilize the expertise of civil society, which is closer to the people.