The Crisis of Lake Chad: A Call for Urgent Action
Lake Chad, once a vital freshwater source for more than 30 million people across Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, has been disappearing before our eyes. From a vast 25,000 square kilometers in the 1960s, the lake has shrunk to less than 1,500 square kilometers today, a loss of over 90 per cent. This decline has turned a once-thriving ecosystem into a humanitarian and security crisis zone.
The shrinking of Lake Chad has had devastating consequences for the communities that once depended on it. The peasant farmers, herders, and fishermen in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states have lost their livelihoods. Once-productive agricultural lands have turned to dust, fish stocks have disappeared, and grazing routes have become contested. As the water vanished, so did economic opportunities. Desperation set in. And in that vacuum, Boko Haram found fertile ground.
This is more than an environmental tragedy; it is a national and regional emergency. The shrinking of Lake Chad has directly contributed to poverty, displacement, and insecurity. It has fed the rise of violent extremism, particularly Boko Haram, and pushed thousands of young people into dangerous migration routes in search of better lives. In short, restoring Lake Chad is not just about water. It is about peace, stability, dignity, and survival for the poorest of the poor as well as national prosperity.
The insurgency has now lasted more than a decade, and while military efforts have reduced its territorial control, the root causes—such as environmental stress and economic hardship—remain unaddressed. When young people have no jobs, no farms, no water, and no future, they become vulnerable to radicalisation. Boko Haram has often exploited this vulnerability by offering money, food, or a false sense of purpose. Recharging Lake Chad won’t solve the insurgency overnight. But it will provide a foundation for recovery and resilience in the North East. It will help restore dignity to communities that have known nothing but violence and loss for years.
The Lake Chad Water Transfer Project: A Potential Solution
The Lake Chad Water Transfer Project, often called the Transaqua Project, proposes to divert water from the Congo River basin through a network of canals to refill Lake Chad. Though technically complex and financially demanding, the project could transform the fortunes of the entire region. Under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria made commendable strides in reviving global interest in this ambitious plan. Buhari hosted international summits, engaged the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), and secured support from partners such as Germany, Italy, World Bank, and the African Development Bank. These countries recognised that restoring Lake Chad could help slow migration, reduce insecurity, and promote regional stability.
There was momentum, optimism, and growing international goodwill. But today, that momentum appears to have stalled. Since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office, the issue of Lake Chad recharging has received little or no public attention. There has been no major statement, policy direction, or diplomatic engagement from the presidency regarding this crucial matter. This silence is not just disappointing, it is dangerous. If Nigeria, as the largest and most influential country in the region, does not lead the charge, the project risks fading once again into obscurity.
A Regional Responsibility
President Tinubu has to recognise that recharging Lake Chad is not an environmental luxury, it is a security and development necessity. Nigeria must urgently re-engage its traditional partners in Europe, particularly Germany, Italy, and the European Union, who have long supported environmental and migration-related projects in Africa. But we must also look east, to new partners in the Middle East. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates have built world-class expertise in water management and desert agriculture. They have invested billions in desalination, irrigation, and sustainable farming. These countries have both the resources and the experience to support Lake Chad recharging, whether through direct funding, technical assistance, or investment partnerships.
Engaging these countries is not just strategic—it is timely. With climate change affecting both Africa and the Gulf, there is shared interest in innovative water solutions.
Economic and Social Impacts
Beyond security and diplomacy, there is a compelling economic case for saving Lake Chad. Restoring the lake would revive agriculture, boost food production, and create thousands of jobs. It would allow the return of fishing communities, improve trade within the region, and strengthen Nigeria’s food security. With rising inflation and food shortages affecting millions, recharging Lake Chad could be a vital step in stabilising the economy. It would also stem the tide of irregular migration. Many young Nigerians risking their lives to cross the Sahara and Mediterranean are from communities devastated by environmental collapse. Giving them a reason to stay begins with giving them something to stay for—water, land, jobs, and hope.
A Call for Leadership and Action
Recharging Lake Chad is not a project that can be completed in one term or solved by one country. But it is a project that must begin with political will. President Tinubu has the opportunity to build on the gains of his predecessor and leave a lasting legacy, one rooted in peacebuilding, environmental restoration, and regional cooperation. He can champion a project that would restore dignity to millions, reduce insecurity, and transform the economy of our great nation.
But he must act, and he must act now. Water is life. And for the people of the Lake Chad Basin, saving this lake could be the difference between life and death, peace and violence, hope and despair.
