RIVER BASINS: Solution to Nigeria’s farmer-herder conflicts, banditry, climate change

Abubakar A. Nuhu-Koko of the Sokoto Energy Research Center (Energy Commission of Nigeria), Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, is a researcher in petroleum policy and economics, and founder and pioneer executive director, The Shehu Shagari World Institute for Leadership and Good Governance, Sokoto, Nigeria. He can be reached on +234 706 330 6887 or aanuhukoko4000@gmail.com

River Basin and Rural Development Authorities (“the RBRDAs” or the “the Authorities”) were created to harness and develop the nation’s water and land  resources potentials and to serve as veritable vehicles for comprehensive and integrated rural development and other related issues in Nigeria

The River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs) in Nigeria were established in 1976. The law establishing the RBRDAs listed eleven agencies with the mandate to develop water resources to support rain fed and irrigable crops, livestock and fisheries.  Hence, River Basin and Rural Development Authorities (RBRDAs) are government agencies in Nigeria that are responsible for the management of land and water resources for agriculture and other uses.

The RBRDAs were created to harness and develop the nation’s water resource potentials and serve as veritable vehicles for comprehensive and integrated rural development in Nigeria. There are 12 River Basin Development Authorities in Nigeria, each operating in an assigned geo-morphological and geopolitical configuration. The following is a list of the 12 River Basin Development Authorities in Nigeria; they are spread across the six geopolitical zones and the FCT as follows:

1. Anambra-Imo River Basin Development Authority: East of Niger River in areas drained by Rivers Imo and Anambra.

2. Benin-Owena River Basin Development Authority: Areas drained by Ogun, Osun, Owena, Ose, Oni, Ogbese and Okitipupa Rivers.

3. Chad Basin Development Authority: Areas surrounding the Lake Chad Basin.

4. Cross River Basin Development Authority: Catchment area are places drained by the Cross River and tributaries.

5. Hadejia-Jama’are River Basin Development Authority: Areas drained by Hadejia, Jama’are, Kano River and other rivers.

6. Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority: Catchment area are those within the confluence of Benue and Niger Rivers.

7. Niger Delta River Basin Development Authority: Areas drained by Nun, Forcados, Ramos, Santa Barbara, Orashi Rivers and their tributaries.

8. Niger River Basin Development Authority: Areas drained by the Niger River starting in the North from the river’s confluence with Malendo River and down to Niger River’s confluence with Ubo River.

9. Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority: Areas drained by Ogun and Osun Rivers.

10. Sokoto-Rima River Basin Development Authority: Areas drained by Sokoto, Rima, Zamfara and other rivers.

11. Upper Benue River Basin Development Authority: Areas drained by the Benue River and its tributaries from the international boundary to Pai and Donga River.

12. Upper Niger River – Niger, Kaduna and FCT

The main functions of the RBRDAs include:

1. Development of both surface and underground water resources.

2. Provision of irrigation infrastructure.

3. Control of flood.

4. Development of a comprehensive water resources master plan.

Collection of data on water (level) flow, rainfall, and wind (Hydro-meteorological data collection and analysis).

Each authority operates in an assigned geo-morphological and geo-political boundary and works to improve agriculture and rural development through irrigation, control of river pollution, and also to assist farmers in processing food crops, livestock and fisheries

It is against the above backdrop that it is hereby suggested that the RBRDAs be re-configured and re-strategised to be used as the spatial entities or templates for sustainably addressing rural marginalisation, underdevelopment, and neglect which are largely responsible for the ongoing rural banditry, kidnappings and terrorism across the length and breadth of the country in the past three decades or so. For instance, each of the RBRDAs can be tasked with providing land, water and other socio-economic infrastructural and technical facilities for all year round farming (rain fed and irrigation), modern livestock and fisheries development, and in addition, be granted or accorded Free Economic and Trade Zones Status as added incentive for local and foreign investors to be equally involved in sustainable commercial productive engagements and employment generation activities for export and local consumption.

This can be seen as national security enhancement innovation that requires inter-agency and inter-ministerial cooperation under the monitoring and supervision of the office of the National Security Advisor and other ministers such as water resources and sanitation, agriculture, defence and humanitarian affairs, etc.

Furthermore, the RBRDAs, if fully put on commercial pedals can also serve a special purpose vehicles for actualizing and implementing Nigeria’s clean green circular economy and climate change adaptation strategies centres; and whereby they can serve as mechanism and framework for greening the nation’s environmental and climate change policies; including energy transition plan using small hydropower and other renewable energy resources and technologies

However, the RBDAs face several challenges that hinder them from delivering on their core mandates. These challenges include inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, inadequate human resources, lack of political will, climate change, and inadequate management etc.

It is essential to properly and sustainably develop river basin systems in Nigeria to enhance not only the economic growth of the nation but its larger multidimensional poverty and insecurity, food and energy security issues that bother on natural resources access for inclusive sustainable development across the board.  Once these challenges are addressed and overcome, the RBRDAs would be effective tools that could bring about national economic development and national cohesion and unity. Farmer-herder conflicts are largely issues of natural resource access and management issues, which the RBRDAs can be used to handle, given the political will and financial muscles to do so.