Posted by From Josephine Lohor in Abuja on
President Olusegun Obasanjo has promised that the Federal Government would 'in a few days time", pay the Lake Chad Basin Commission, LCBC, the balance of $2.5 million out of $5 million that it pledged to the Commission.
President Olusegun Obasanjo has promised that the Federal Government would 'in a few days time", pay the Lake Chad Basin Commission, LCBC, the balance of $2.5 million out of $5 million that it pledged to the Commission.
The President, in his keynote address at the Donors Conference for the Resuscitation and Sustainable, Development of the Lake Chad Basin yesterday, said that his decision 'to accept to do all of these was informed by the need to create mass awareness, galvanise support and ultimately stimulate the interests of all stakeholders, especially the riparian countries of the Lake.
'The logic here is that when our friends and partners see and commend our efforts within, they would naturally be challenged to lend support and listen to our call for assistance to change the deplorable state of the Lake Chad".
President Obasanjo, who emphasised that the Lake Chad must be saved from extinction, stated that 'the massive reduction in the size of the lake should however, not only be seen from a mere physical perspective as the socio-economic implications are worrisome. The effects of the shrinkage have included insecurity and pervasive poverty in the basin. These in turn, have led to continued degradation due to the symbiotic relationship between poverty and environmental degradation which ultimately results in a vicious circle".
Recalling that the Lake Chad has shrinked from its original size of 25,000 square kilometeres in 1964 to less than 2,000 square kilometres in 1990, he said that the time when the Basin had 'capacity for uninterrupted streams of environmental resources and providing a platform to guarantee food security, water security, job and wealth creation", has changed 'and the fortunes of the Lake have dwindled and dimmed so much so that the dependent populations have been turned into environmental refugees".
While noting that 'the existing scenario is unacceptable as it constitutes a blight to the ecology of the basin", he therefore stated that 'there is no doubt that we require a lot of political will and huge financial resources to achieve our set goals. To do this, we require a lot of political will and huge financial resources to achieve our set goals.
'To do this, we require the building of strong and progressive partnerships among ourselves within the sub-region and partnerships with other African countries. We will also, as a matter of necessity, require to build partnerships and strengthen existing ones with our traditional and potential interactions with the larger international community", he added.
The President, who emphasised that there was urgent need to transform the Lake Chad, noted that 'this juncture demands that we put an end to these negative ecological trends and reposition the Lake on the path of sustainable growth and development in order to
alleviate poverty; create both wealth and jobs that would unleash the natural development in order to alleviate poverty; create both wealth and jobs that would unleash the natural development in order to alleviate poverty; create both wealth and jobs that
would unleash the natural potentials of the Lake and its inhabitants".
In this regard, he stated that 'the creation of such an enabling environment is part of the compact which we signed with our people. We must therefore commit ourselves to uphold the demands of the compact by honouring our pledge to the people we govern. We must ensure that the reform programmes going on in the sub-region are total and comprehensive with necessary safety nets, especially for the poor and other disadvantaged members of our societies.
'Equally worthy of mention is the emerging concept of a regional approach to development. Henceforth, we should see the sub-region as a single ecological entity with capacities and limits which have been defined by nature for our benefits and those of future generations,
'To succeed in this mission, we need both the technical and financial support of our friends and partners, some of whom are represented at this
conference. We need, in addition, humane considerations and accommodation as a necessary condition to join and become active participants and
beneficiaries of a negotiated and mutually beneficial world trade, characterised by trade concessions. Most importantly, we need unconditional debt cancellation
so as to be free of the debt burden which has militated against the socio-economic development of our region for so long", the President added.
The conference was attended by Presidents Francis Bozzie, Central African Republic; Mahmoudu Tandja, Niger Republic; Souso Ngueso, Congo; as well as
representatives from Chad, Sudan and other donor agencies.