…As UN calls for action

The United Nations (UN) has called on the international community to take decisive action that will save the Lake Chad from disappearing.

UN Secretary General, AntónioGuterres, who made call yesterday in Abuja during the high level meeting of the heads of state of the Chad Basin countries, said the call became necessary because of the humanitarian crisis rocking the region.

Represented by the UN Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohammed IbnChambas, the UN scribe said the Lake Chad used to be a source of livelihood to millions of people around the region through agriculture, fishery and livestock, but regretted that 90 per cent of the lake had shrunk.

He said at present, about 10 million people in the region required humanitarian assistance with many others ravaged by food insecurity.

The UN scribe called on the governments of the region, other regional bodies, international donors, as well as world financial institutions to take urgent action to restore the glory of the lake.

He regretted that even though insurgency was getting weak in the region, many efforts were not taken to address the humanitarian crisis in the region; including destroyed infrastructural facilities.

The UN scribe also condemned the recent abduction of some girls in Yobe State. The incident, he said, was similar to the Chibok adoption.

He, however, commended the efforts of the Nigerian military towards rescuing them.