Nile University’s Economics department held a conference, titled Demystifying Lake Chad Region: Climate Change, Security and Development, on October 15. The program was aimed at facilitating a critical discussion on the dynamics of climate change, insecurity and economic outcomes in the Lake Chad region. During the event, the speakers/panelists debated how these three factors interact and reinforce each other, as well as their effects on the social, political and economic well-being of the people of Lake Chad. Specific issues addressed in this regard included the domino effect of climate change in the region. According to Dr. Hakeem Onapajo (Department of Political Science and International relations, Nile University), rising temperatures in the region have led to the shrinking of the Lake Chad, which has resulted in the loss of livelihood for several locals who depended on the water from the lake for activities such as fishing and agriculture. This loss of their primary source of income, he continued, has made the inhabitants of the region vulnerable to radicalization by terrorist groups like Boko Haram.
Echoing Dr. Onapajo’s sentiments, Dr. Ndubusi Nwokolo (Nextier SPD) stated that a multidisciplinary approach is required to solve the problem of the Lake Chad region, due to its highly dynamic nature.
Notable individuals that were present at the event included Assoc. Prof. Gylich Jelilov (Dean of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Nile University), Mr. Umar Mashio (Center for Lifelong Learning, Nile University), Mr. Murtala Abdullahi (Global Initiative for Civil Stabilisation), Mr. Abdulrasheed Isah (Department of Economics, Nile University).
