Muhammadu Buhari has called on world leaders to revive the Lake Chad and save communities dependent on the river from extinction, saying that this will stop migration to Europe.
Buhari addressing world leaders at UN Climate Change Conference in Paris
Buhari is currently in French capital where he and over 150 other leaders of the nations are gathered with the aim of reaching a new and universal climate change agreement.
On the eve of the COP21 conference, 184 countries covering around 95 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions had delivered their national climate action plans to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
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Nigerian president said that developed countries should make strong financial donations to the 14 billion dollars immediately needed.
President Buhari stated this while addressing a high level meeting on “Climate Change Challenges and Solutions in Africa”, on the sidelines of the on-going UN Climate Change Conference, COP 21.
He said that no less than five million people living in the Lake Chad Basin countries have been displaced by the decrease of the lake due to climate change.
Buhari added that the drop-off of the lake, a former island sea, had caused an exaggerated social conflicts, high rates of migration and cross border movements.
He said: “Nigeria has a large population of over 170 million people and in some parts of Northern Nigeria, a farm that used to belong to 10 people now belongs to over 100 people. They have no other place to live and no land for cultivation.’’
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“The amount of resources required and the high technological expertise and infrastructure needed to be undertaken to revive the Lake Chad has to be mainly financed by the G7 and the United States.
“The cost is great and more than 14 billion dollars is needed to revive the Lake.
“But if that is achieved, at least five million people from Central African Republic to the Lake Chad Basin countries (Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Benin) will be rehabilitated.
“When this is done those who are daring to cross the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean to come to Europe will remain at home because they have land where they can cultivate and earn a respectable living,’’ the president stated.
Speaking on Nigeria’s plans to tackle climate change the Nigerian leader told the meeting that the country was blessed with natural gas to promotee the country’s energy needs.
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