How Climate Change is contributing to insecurity in Nigeria

Climate change in the past few decades has caused the Lake Chad Basin in North Eastern Nigeria to shrink. It has shrunk by 90% since the 1960s and has caused a downturn in the fortunes of the 30 million people who depend on it in Nigeria, Cameroun, Chad, and Niger. In the 1960s, it occupied an area of over 26,000 Square Kilometers, but in 2020, it was just over 1,320 Square Kilometers. One of the ripple effects of this is that it has caused cattle herders to increasingly drive south into Nigeria’s central farmland. The decades long battle over land between the herdsmen from the Fulani people and farmers in the central region known as the Middle Belt has thus rapidly increased. The root of the conflict lies in the forced southern migration, owing to the drought, (of which the shrinkage of the lake chad due to climate change is a primary reason). The constant battle for scare water and agricultural resource around the basin has also created another opportunity for militant groups around the area to spring up.

Lake Chad in 1973 vs Lake Chad in 2020 This clashes between the herders and farmers not only increase the rate of insecurity in Africa's most populous country, but also threatens to destabilize the entire West-African region due to the nomadic behavior of the herders. Lasting solutions have to be multi pronged. The Government must come up with a regional effort to save and if possible revitalize the Lake Chad using ingenious scientific methods, such as funneling water from the larger Congo River, or Southern Nigeria, embark on massive ranching efforts and estates as a way to boost economic output and reduce the migratory effects of herders, continue to plant and nurture native trees and vegetation as a way to combat desertification, as well as invest in the security architecture of affected communities and the region in general.