Drying Lake Chad puts 30m lives on edge

Businessday ^ | Tuesday, September 6, 2011 | Adeola Ajakaiye

[SunkenCiv]

Lake Chad, one of the largest boddies of water in Sub-Saharan Africa, is on the verge of drying up, as only 1,500 square kilometres,  of the original 25,000 square kilometres size of the lake still remain.

The figure represents 10 percent of the initial size of the lake, which traverses Nigeria and three other neighboring countries -- Chad , Niger , and the Republic of Cameroon.

The lake, which banks in Nigeria , in the north-astern state of Borno, with Maiduguri as its administrative capital, is said to share similar hydrological basin with four other countries: Central African Republic, Algeria , Sudan and Libya.

Experts are of the view that at the rate at which the lake is shrinking, it might become mere dry land in the next 20 years...

“This is a staggering prospect when it is remembered that at the time of Nigeria `s political independence, the lake covered an area larger than the size of the state of Israel . Today only less than 10 percent of that size remains..."

[mamelukesabre]

lucky my ass.

the conditions you currently find yourself in have nothing to do with your happiness. Happiness comes from the opportunity to strive for better.

Prison inmates have a pretty comfortable existence. But I would rather live in an african desert than an american prison.

[AndrewB]

wow that is small!

[Hot Tabasco]

lucky my ass.

Yea, I am lucky and blessed to be living where I do.

Sounds like a six pack and a bug up your ass doing the talking..go to bed you lousy drunk.

[JimmyMc]

That is why water will become the next big commodes market.

[mongo141]

“So what do they want me to do about it?”

Send the huge sums of money from the tax payers pocket/S

[Aria]

Yes, we were lucky just to be born here! All to easy to take for granted.

[PA Engineer]

Lake Chad, one of the largest boddies of water in Sub-Saharan Africa, is on the verge of drying up, as only 1,500 square kilometres, of the original 25,000 square kilometres size of the lake still remain.

The figure represents 10 percent of the initial size of the lake

Huh?

[listenhillary]

Different strokes for different folks I suppose.

[Aria]

boy, are you short sighted!

I can’t even believe you said that. You must have never been anywhere.

[listenhillary]

Someone on FR posted. It’s hard to pass yourself off as having any poor in your country when you flush your toilets with anywhere from 1.5 to 5 gallons of perfectly good drinking water multiple times a day.

[printhead]

Sam Kinison had it right. Don’t send them food. Send them U-Hauls. Just not here.

[elkfersupper]

30 million desperate people can create a lot of havoc.

Or, they could move to where the food (or water) is, adapt and innovate.

[elkfersupper]

I agree.

Good observation and excellent post.

[AfricanChristian]

That is not Africa.

In any case, Africa does not have a monopoly over masturbation. I have lived in the Western World and have encountered a good number of creepy horny guys.

[gaijin]

How many “penis shrinking” epidemics have you encountered here?

[Vision]

This photo should be entitled "Liberal Insanity." A guy so brainwashed he doesn't want to see the hole for Bush but is doing all that to find an arguement to switch the vote to Gore. Nutcase.

[org.whodat]

That is true, they can all move to Texas and get a free education, beside they are kinda like dry country.

[mamelukesabre]

lol, you are an idiot

[mamelukesabre]

I can’t believe you call yourself conservative.

[Aria]

Now there’s a brilliant comment from someone who seems to think that Africans born in the absolute middle of nowhere with absolutely no infrastructure have the same opportunities as we do.

i went there and I saw. Did you?

What does conservative meant to you? Selfish? Xenophobic? Snide?