Cooperation Between the Countries Around Lake Chad Basin: An Assessment

The Lake Chad Basin is an important natural resource that cut across several countries among which are Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Algeria, Central African Republic and Libya. In a bid to ensure the effective utilization of the water of the basin, the countries have engaged in cooperation through the creation of Lake Chad Basin Commission. The Commission has embarked on certain programmes to achieve its aim, hence the need for the assessment of the cooperation between countries around the basin. This work is an assessment albeit critical, of the cooperation within that commission. Part of the findings of the paper is that the Lake Chad Basin Commission has been unable to achieve objectives it sets for itself. Certain challenges which include but not limited to, lack of political will among members of the Commission, reoccurrence of violence, lack of adequate finance, poor organizational structure, cultural and language difference have worked either individually or in tandem to frustrate the realization of what appeared ab initio to be the noble and lofty goals of the commission. The contention of the paper therefore, is that the Lake Chad Basin Commission member states should reflect and modernize its initial objectives and operationalize the ingredients of its cooperation to derive the positivity laden in the agreements or else risk the extinction of an important water resource. Data for the paper were sourced using both primary and secondary. Other variables and methodological approaches like analysis, discourse, and accountability and of course, chronological delineations were generously employed in reconstruction. Study of this nature is multidisciplinary and knitted in the International studies, Security studies, and Diplomatic and Military history.