Shettima encouraged Lake Chad Revival in the United Nations Food Summit

Vice President Kashim Shettima on Wednesday called on the revival of Lake Chad to improve agriculture throughout the year and support the green revolution project.

He made a call at the UN Food System Summit +4 (UNFSS +4) at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The vice president spoke in a panel about “State Perspective: Strategy led by the government and regional framework.”

He said the revival of the Lake Chad region, which was threatened by multidimensional challenges, was very important to rebuild a sustainable and inclusive food system in the region and throughout Africa.

Shettima identified challenges to include environmental degradation, climate change, humanitarian crisis, and conflict.

According to him, overcoming multidimensional challenges requires a multi-branch approach, development initiative, conflict resolution, regional cooperation, and large-scale infrastructure.

He challenges African countries to quit charity and long-term assistance from developed countries, because they are not sustainable solutions for African development and may even be detrimental.

“We believe charity is not the answer. In Africa, we say that when you give a fish man, you give him a feed for a day,” he said.

Also Read: Zulum Identifying Irrigation Agriculture As a Solution for Food Vulnerability in the Lake Chad Region

He said the administration of the Tinubu Bola President had designed a comprehensive strategy to overcome the challenges of food security, which mostly affected citizens who were vulnerable in areas affected by conflict.

“Our target is to achieve food sovereignty. As long as a country is not independent in the field of food sovereignty, it remains a non-regional country.

“President Tinubu declared an emergency about food security, not because of fear, but because of a sincere concern for the welfare of our people.

“This is especially in an environment driven by conflicts such as the northeast, where Boko Haram sowed the seeds of disputes and destruction,” added the vice president.