The Situation in
the Lake Chad Basin (Background, Solutions, Stats)

Information Gathered by John Prieschl

The
issues surrounding the Lake Chad Basin is one of the most difficult and
imperative topics that nations around the world are determined to resolve.
Hunger and malnutrition plague the north-eastern Nigeria, Cameroon’s Far North,
western Chad and south-eastern Niger, with more than seventeen million citizens
being affected. Nigeria, a country that is damaged most by the Lake Chad Basin
crisis, has had a checkered history with their use of funds; the African
country was funded with 714 million dollars, and the nation has failed to meet
340 million of this “gift.” Therefore, the solution lies not with the
importation of more money and more resources, but a complete overhaul
of regulation and study of the use of other nation’s reliefs, as well as the
responsibility of the governments. British Ambassador to the UN, Matthew
Rycroft, stated in March 2017: ‘We came in order to show this will no longer be
a neglected crisis.’ His counterpart, Senegalese Ambassador Fodé Seck, went
further, urging that, ‘when we go back to New York, we must not sit idle … this
visit must have follow up’ (Bseitter). It is the obligation of the Security
Council to condemn the groups and authority members responsible for the
infringement of millions of citizen’s rights, infringements that the world has
largely neglected or ignored.

            Boko Haram, a terrorist network that has targeted,
exploited, and demonstrated its aptitude for violence, is run by Abubakar
Shekau, a man who has gained control of the area in the past and has continued
to influence the population even when he is not in authority. The group aims to
establish a fully Islamic state in Nigeria, including the implementation of
sharia criminal courts across the country. Paul Lubeck, a University of
California, Santa Cruz, professor who researches Muslim areas of interest in
Africa, claims that Shekau was a trained Salafist, and was inspired and
influenced by Ibn Taymiyyah, an important figure for radical groups in the
Middle East, and once of the

They
have attacked Nigeria’s police and army, politicians, schools, religious
buildings, public institutions, and civilians with increasing regularity since
2009. The threat of this group has delayed the importation of food, money,
building structure, and more. The Boko Haram is responsible for many heinous
acts of violence, including the kidnapping of hundreds of children and the
capturing of a country’s prime minister. These transgressions signalize the
broadening of efforts by this organization, which originally began their fight
in Borno, Nigeria. One way in which their mission has spread like wildfire
throughout the Lake Chad Basin area was the splitting of one conglomerate into
many separate factions. The new units moved to neighboring countries,
influencing the nations through lethal and repulsive actions.

What
makes the Boko Haram such an abominable threat to the safety of civilians is that
their message and call to violence may be understandable for minorities. For
several decades, social inequality has plagued the nation of Nigeria; many
people see the movement as an effect, not so much a cause. Government and elite
delinquency may have gradually fed into unspeakable mayhem, and the corruption
of public services is “a center of criminal enterprise” (Mahmood). A 2009
Amnesty International report said Nigerian police were responsible for hundreds
of extrajudicial killings and disappearances each year that largely “go
uninvestigated and unpunished.” The acts of the terrorist group are appalling
and gut-wrenching, but the dispersion of evil in the governments of Nigeria and
neighboring allies may result in the “killing of two birds with one stone”
(Sergie).

If
the many countries in the Lake Chad Basin area of Africa want to find a clear causation
for the disappearance of people groups, resources, and peace, then we must gauge
the impact that the Boko Haram has had. Since February 2017, the number of
incidents and deaths during the crisis has skyrocketed, and the charts are
predicting an all-time high realization of violence and horror to the strongest
degree. The fear of impending doom and potential massacres have led to the
displacement of a miniscule amount of people. 17.2 million people have been
living in affected areas, and while displacement may seem as though it’s a
viable option, the blocking of several main roads and the flooding in numerous
locations has made travel, of any kind, virtually impossible. For those that
escape the terror that is contained within Niger, Cameroon, Chad, and Nigeria,
they are met with camps and territories of retreat that are in terrible
condition, plagued by disease and crime.

Despite
the United States urging an influx of law enforcement efforts and, even,
military support, this would be problematic due to the questionable history of
armed forces in Nigeria. Rather than suggest the expansion of brute force,
there should be mandatory inspections and overviews of the force currently
employed to maintain order and justice. The many injustices committed by the
citizens of the countries exclusively must not be ignored in favor of
exploiting the acts of terrorism, seeing as many of these situations could have
been avoided by an upright political and social system.

Another
way to compromise with the enemy is by improving the education and political
diversity in these countries. By showing many ethnicities and paths of life in
government, or in power, the Boko Haram’s reasons for causing catastrophes
throughout the many African nations will be found irrelevant and in the past.
If they were to continue their acts of horror after the checking of government
forces and discrimination, military action can then be used to abolish the
group once and for all; the diversification of the population and authority
figures would be a much quicker solution for a problem as dire as this one. The
resources are there for the taking, and by eliminating the presence of the Boko
Haram faction, the starving and neglected population can finally receive the
help and assistance that they have yearned for. 

             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works
Cited/Bibliography:

Bseitter. “Humanitarian
Crisis in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin.” CARE, 27 Oct. 2017,   www.care.org/emergencies/global-hunger-crisis/humanitarian-crisis-nigeria-and-lake-chad-basin.

“Lake Chad Basin: Crisis
Overview.” Lake Chad Basin: Crisis Overview | OCHA, 2017,   www.unocha.org/rowca/lake-chad-crisis.

“Lake Chad Basin: Crisis
Overview (as of 11 August 2017).” ReliefWeb, 11 Aug. 2017,             reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/lake-chad-basin-crisis-overview-11-august-2017.

“Lake Chad Basin |
Disaster Assistance.” U.S. Agency for International Development, 18 Dec.            2017, www.usaid.gov/crisis/lake-chad.

Mahmood, Omar S. “The
Hidden Opportunity of the Lake Chad Basin Crisis.” ISS Africa, 10        Mar. 2017,
issafrica.org/iss-today/the-hidden-opportunity-of-the-lake-chad-basin-crisis.

Sergie, Mohammed Aly, and
Toni Johnson. “Boko Haram.” Council on Foreign Relations,        Council on Foreign Relations, 5 Mar.
2015, www.cfr.org/backgrounder/boko-haram.