FACT CHECK: Can Lakes Be Recharged As Claimed By Tinubu?

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, promised yesterday that he would 'recharge’ Lake Chad if elected president come 2023.

Can a lake be recharged or has the president lost his line of thought?

Tinubu made the vow during the inauguration of crude oil and gas commercial production from the Kolmani Integrated Development Project.

Recharge lake chad ko! Recharge card ni.

This man is very weak. His words are so incoherent.

— Abdul Rasheeth (@Rasheethe) November 22, 2022

Social media users subsequently said that the two-term governor “gaffed” with his statement.

Tinubu the City boy said he will recharge lake chad if elected as president. I will be here waiting for his dumb supporters to defend him

— Dr Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed (STAN) #ObiDatti2023 (@Naija_Activist) November 22, 2022

Tinubu says “if I am elected president, I will recharge lake chad”

I didn’t know lake chad had a low battery. What’s worse are the m0rons clapping and smiling, brain dead doesn’t begin to define them.

— Weyimi B. Lube ? (@_weyimi) November 22, 2022

Peter Obi - I will be in charge of Nigeria.

Bola Tinubu - I will recharge lake chad.

Choose your President wisely.

— Kowa Ishaku Yahaya (@Yahaya_IV) November 22, 2022

I will recharge Lake Chad” I GIVE UP?

— Peter Okoye MrP (@PeterPsquare) November 22, 2022

Claim

At the event, the former Lagos State governor said, “Let me assure you, if I am elected the president, I will recharge Lake Chad.”

Social media users said the statement by the presidential candidate was made unconsciously that there is nothing like “recharging a lake”.

Verification

According to sciencedirrect.com, Recharge is the movement of water into the soil, flowing downward through the unsaturated zone, below the root zone of plants, until it arrives at the saturated zone, adding to groundwater storage.

Environmental experts have revealed that recharging lake chad is essential to save it from drying up completely.

The sources said recharging entails refilling up the lake with water.

Further searches reveal that Nigeria has been looking to recharge lake chad since July 2021 and was working closely with the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) alongside other African countries.

Another research article published on researchgate.net titled 'Recharging the Lake Chad: The Hydropolitics of National Security and Regional Integration in Africa' also shows that the process is a long-term regional desire.

The author, Ifatokun Paul Ifabiyi from the University of Ilorin, pointed out that recharging lake Chad will make the basin more active and facilitate navigation and electricity generation, among others.

Fact

‘Recharging' lake chad is a process that has been mooted in the last few years and is part of the Lake Chad Replenishment Project. 

Conclusion

That Bola Tinubu was wrong with the clause “recharging the lake chad” is false. Recharging lake chad is a mid-term goal for African countries.