Obasanjo appeals to UN to save Lake Chad

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has appealed to the United Nations Development Programme and other international agencies for help in reversing the gradual recession of Lake Chad. In a speech delivered on Monday by Defence Minister Theophilus Danjuma in Abuja at the opening of the 47th session of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, he said it was imperative to halt the degradation of the lake, once the world’s sixth largest, ‘The Guardian’ newspaper of Lagos reported. “Your vision for the people of the Lake Chad basin must have at its core the security and well-being of the suffering masses as well as the unity of the member-nations,” he said. Members states of the commission, formed in 1964 to ensure optimal use of the lake basin’s water resources, are Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. The commission is also supposed to coordinate the planning and implementation of all regional projects of the lake basin, review complaints and help settle disputes. As a result of persistent drought since the 1960s, the lake has shrunk to one-tenth of its size. A project has been launched to save it but the commission lacks money. “Member countries, therefore, have to pay their contributions on time,” Obasanjo said.