OVERVIEW OF THE CONTEXT
Over the last decade, the four riparian countries around Lake Chad – Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, have experienced unprecedented levels of crises, exacerbated by repeated incidences of violence from the Boko Haram terrorist group. These crises have deepened instability, slowed economic growth and engendered deep humanitarian concerns in the region. In response to this, the African Union and the Lake Chad Basin Commission in 2015, signed an agreement for the operationalization of the Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to bring an end to the Boko Haram insurgency in the Region. Despite the significant progress made by the MNJTF, it is agreed by all stakeholders that overall success of the collective effort will be contingent upon coherent acceleration and completion of the second phase of the mandate namely to “facilitate the implementation of overall stabilization programmes by the LCBC Member States and Benin in the affected areas, including the full restoration of state authority and the return of IDPs and refugees”. To achieve this, the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) was tasked by its Member States to facilitate the mechanisms and processes required to consolidate the gains of the MNJTF.
This Strategy is the product of broad consultations among experts of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and those of the African Union Commission, relevant agencies of the United Nations and other stakeholders. Anchored on nine pillars, the strategy seeks to establish a common approach and an inclusive framework for all stakeholders to support a timely, coordinated, and effective transition from stabilization to early recovery and the resumption of stalled development processes in the Region. Within the context of continental aspirations, it also serves to achieve the AU’s aspiration to Silence the Guns by 2020, the first 10 years plan of Agenda 2063 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 by laying a foundation for the creation of conditions necessary for sustainable peace and development in the LCB region.
