As
millions suffer from hunger, disease, illiteracy and grinding poverty
in the Lake Chad region of West Africa, a sinister game of resource
extraction and exploitation is playing out, with geopolitics at the
heart of it all.
by
Eric Draitser
Part
1
In late
February 2017, Norway hosted an international humanitarian conference
on Nigeria and the Lake Chad region in hopes of attracting major
donors to fund relief work. As Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs
Børge Brende explained, “The conference has three aims: to
raise awareness about the crisis, to gain more support for
humanitarian efforts, and to secure greater political commitment to
improve the situation.”
Brende’s
concern for the region may be laudable. But no serious examination of
the crisis in West Africa can ignore the political and strategic
calculus that surrounds the region. As with all conflicts in Africa,
questions about resource extraction and neocolonial exploitation
abound, with corrupt governments in the region (and their backers in
wealthy countries) making the discussion all the more uncomfortable
for the most privileged members of global society.
A real
discussion of the issue would highlight the questionable connections
between regional governments and the development of Boko Haram, the
Nigerian terror group that is responsible for much of the havoc being
wreaked in the region. It would note the vast energy deposits beneath
Lake Chad that evoke an almost Pavlovian response from the leaders of
surrounding countries, blinded by the dollar signs in their eyes. It
would point out the moves that former colonial powers in Europe are
making within the region to enrich themselves and expand their
military presence, as well as increase their influence and political
power.
In short,
the humanitarian crisis around Lake Chad is a symptom of a much
larger sickness afflicting the region. We must diagnose the illness
in order to treat it, not simply observe its side effects and call
for more drugs.
Source
and links:
http://www.mintpressnews.com/natos-war-of-resources-is-causing-a-humanitarian-crisis-in-west-africa/226049/
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