River Basin Development Authorities and Nigeria’s Economic Development Since 1960

Article Citation: Danladi Abah (2019). River Basin Development Authorities and Nigeria's Economic Development Since 1960. DEGEL: The Journal of the Faculty of Arts and Islamic Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1. ISSN 0794-9316

RIVER BASIN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES AND NIGERIA’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SINCE 1960

By

Danladi Abah
Department of History & International Studies
Kogi State University, Anyigba
 danladiabah@gmail.com

&

Peter Nankiel Wilfred
Department of History, Federal University, Lafia

Abstract

This paper examines the role of River Basin Development Authorities in the economic development of Nigeria particularly since Independence. The paper argues that the River Basins were mainly meant to undertake the development of underground water resources, promote agricultural development through large scale irrigation projects and general water management germane for Nigeria’s rapid national socio-economic development. Though a modicum of achievements have been recorded, this paper contends that the activities of River Basin Development Authorities in Nigeria have not led to rapid appreciable economic development due to corruption, mismanagement, politicization of agriculture, poor funding, and insecurity among others. Through a multidisciplinary approach using both primary and secondary sources, this paper concludes that there is the urgent need for both institutional and legislative reforms of River Basin Development Authorities in Nigeria.

Introduction

In a general survey of Nigeria’s economy in its first twenty-five years, Adeboye T.O., observes that throughout the pre-independence period, the Nigerian economy was dominated by peasant agriculture which contributed over 60% of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product. With the use of local farm tools and rain fed agriculture, Nigeria was able to produce enough food to feed its population and even for exports. As Adeboye further observes, “in spite of the backwardness, the pre-independence era of traditional agriculture, the sector made as high as 70% of all Nigeria’s export…and the sector also accounted for 95% of the country’s food production” As a result of this, Nigeria was highly food secured in her early independence years.

The three geopolitical regions of North, East and West created in 1946 and later the Mid-Western region created in 1963, each thrived on the basis of agriculture. For instance, the Northern areas grew annuals and cereals such as sorghum, groundnuts, cotton, millet, etc while the Southern areas grew tubers and tree crops like yams, cassava, cocoa, palm produce, etc. These provided food, employment, raw materials for industries and foreign exchange earnings to Government. During the first decade of Independence, agriculture made positive contributions to Nigeria’s economy. This was because the political leadership continued with the agricultural policies initiated by the erstwhile colonial authority.

 However, following the discovery of crude oil at Oloibiri and its subsequent exploration in commercial quantities in 1956 and 1958 respectively, agriculture was relegated. The oil boom is sudden huge oil revenues made the post-independence political leadership to forfeit the development of agriculture. Chris observes that:

The oil boom era of the 1970s tended to have brought doom to the nation’s agricultural sector. The oil boom resulting from the Arab oil embargo on the United States in 1973 affected the Nigerian agricultural sector adversely. By 1977, the share of agriculture to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined from 48.23 percent in 1971 to about 21 percent. The percentage of agricultural exports also declined from 20.7 per cent in 1971 to 5.7 percent. By this time, oil revenue represented 90 percent of foreign earnings and about 85 per cent of total exports

 By the 1970s, Nigeria became a highly food unsecured country as the oil boom brought about a decline in agricultural products, distortions of the labour markets which in effect culminated in adverse production levels in both food and cash crops. The excessive revenues from the oil boom made the political leadership to begin massive food importation strategy. Rice, wheat, millet, fish, etc were imported and even the local ports could not contain imports. This unfortunate scenario affected Nigeria’s economy negatively. This is because it created and sustained the neo-colonial dependency syndrome which resulted in loss of revenues, disarticulation of the Nigerian agricultural structures, engendered capital flight, created balance of payment crisis, among others.

 In order to address these challenges, River Basins Development Authorities were established in Nigeria to help plan, manage and develop river basins for overall agricultural, techno-industrial, economic and social transformation of the country through proper utilization and management of Nigeria river basins. As Njoku observes, it was believed that an integrated river basin development will help stimulate agricultural production through all-year farming (irrigation agriculture), which will guarantee food security, boost hydropower generation, flood control and provide water for rural and urban consumption. However, several decades, after the establishment of nine River Basins in 1976 and the subsequent additional three to make it twelve (12) river basins, the river basins have not made appreciable positive contribution to the economic development of Nigeria². Nigeria’s economy remains highly monocultural and disarticulated the contribution of agriculture to Gross Domestic Products, GDP declined to 2.7% while unemployment and social insecurity are high. Available statistics show that 24.4 Nigerians are malnourished, 1.3 trillion Naira ($8.1bn) is spent on imports of food annually.

 Thus, this paper investigates the following; what is the historical basis of river basins development in Nigeria? To what extent have the various River Basin Development Authorities spurred economic development in Nigeria? What factors account for the low or poor contribution of River Basin Development Authority (RBDA) to economic development in Nigeria? How can the challenges facing the RBDAs be overcome? In addition to the introduction, this paper is schematically divided into four parts, namely; conceptual clarifications, history of RBDAs in Nigeria, historical reflection the Nigeria’s economic development and a conclusion.

Conceptual Clarifications

 In order to curtail ambiguities in usage and meanings of some terms used in this paper, some key terms are clearly defined and the context of their usage in this paper clarified. Some of these terms are; river basin, authority and economic development.

A river basin is defined as a portion of land drained by a river and its tributaries. It encompasses the entire land surface dissected and drained by mainly streams and creeks that flows downhill into one another³. Ahokegh sees a basin simply as a valley which is the land that water flow across or under on its way to a river⁴. In this paper, a river basin is used to mean the portion(s) of land drained by a river, streams and creeks.

Authority is the right to control, dominate and influence one’s decision. It is the legal right to initiate and enforce order⁵. Authority in this paper refers to the right of an agency of government to carry out certain stipulated statutory functions.

Agriculture: Agriculture is the art and science of production of crops and rearing of animals for consumption and exchange. Agriculture is also used to refer to all the processes involved in the production of food, rearing of animals to promote human survival and societal development. It is the most critical aspect of human enterprise because without food, man cannot survive or carry out any meaningful activity.

Economic development: economic development is the capacity of a national economy, whose initial economic condition has been more or less static for a long time to generate and sustain an annual increase in its Gross National Product (GNP) at rates perhaps 5-7%. Economic development in the past has meant a planned alteration of the structure of production especially with increase in share of industrial and manufacturing outputs⁶. However, a new perspective to development is geared towards the direct attacks on widespread absolute poverty, increasing inequitable income distributions and rising unemployment. By 1970s, economic development came to be redefined in terms of the increase in lifespan (longevity), increase in literacy rate (access to education), food security, reduction or elimination of poverty, inequality and unemployment within the context of a growing economy⁷. Development in this paper is human faced. Thus, it is seen as the national food security, ability to meet basic needs, self-esteem and freedom. It is also concerned with increase or the availability of basic human choices or the process that widens the distribution of basic life-sustaining goods such as food, shelter, health and protection incomes, provision of more jobs, better education and wellbeing are also development and to expand the range of economic and social choices available to individuals and nations.

History of River Basins Development in Nigeria

The evolution of river basin development in Nigeria dates to the colonial era. The idea of harnessing Nigeria’s rivers and their basins for agro-allied uses in Nigeria is traced to the era of British colonial administration. The British colonial government as at the late 1940s took special interest in the utilization and development of the river basins especially in northern Nigeria⁸. This was because of the acute shortage of rainfall in the northern part of the country, which hampered farming activities. The colonial development welfare fund made special provisions for this. For instance, during the colonial epoch, irrigation schemes were carried out at Yau on the Yobe River, at Ebiji, east of Maiduguri, Wurno in Sokoto, in Kano and smaller ones around Jos⁹

Njoku clearly observes that the British colonial authorities in Nigeria were inspired by the Tennessee Valley Authority in the United States of America which had prior to 1947 helped to revolutionize agricultural production in the United States through the use of river basins. As a result of this, in 1947, the northern Nigeria colonial administrators through Colonial Development Welfare Fund (CDWF) voted special fund to commerce preliminary investigation into how best to develop the Sokoto-Rima basin for overall agricultural, techno-industrial development. The economic gluts and the effects of war on the British economy and finances of the colonial economies caused further delay in the development of river basins in Nigeria.

In 1963, the Lake Chad Basin Commission was established. Works started on the Lake Chad Basin and the Sokoto River Basin during 1973-1974. The oil boom, which enhanced the revenue base of Nigeria, helped the federal government to create both legislative and institutional framework upon which the activities of RBDAs in Nigeria will be coordinated and developed for national growth and development¹⁰.

In this perspective, Njoku, therefore, argues that this further led to the promulgation of decree No 73 in 1973 which extended the RBD project nationwide thus, following the promulgation of the decree; eleven (11) RBDAs were established. There was additional creation of the Sokoto Rima Basin Authority which brings the total number of RBDAs to twelve (12). Each authority was placed in charge of a designated area, though the demarcation sometimes followed geo-political rather than logical geomorphic profile

These river basins and their headquarters are listed below;

1. Anambra- Imo River Basin Development Authority- Owerri

2. Benin Owena River Basin Development Authority- Benin

3. Chad River Basin Development Authority – Maidugri

4. Cross River Basin Development Authority – Calabar

5. Hadeji-Jama-are River Basin Development Authority – Kano

6. Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority-Makurdi

7. Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority– Ilorin

8. Niger Delta River Basin Development Authority – Port Harcourt

9. Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority

10. Upper Benue River Basin Development Authority Yola

11. Upper Niger River Basin Development Authority -Abeokuta

12. Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority Sokoto¹

In order to facilitate rapid economic development of Nigeria through an integrated planning and management of Nigerian river basins, the authorities had the following mandates in their various operational areas;

1. Construction of dams and boreholes for irrigation and rural water supply.

2. Large-scale mechanized clearing and cultivation of various land forms.

3. Rural electrification and construction of feeder roads

4. Establishment of agro-service centres, with tractor hire services

5. Large scale multiplication of improved seeds for distribution to farmers.

6. Large-scale rearing of improved livestock and poultry for distribution to farmers

7. Establishment of grazing reserves for nomadic cattle breeders;

8. Establishment of large scale a afforestation schemes.

9. Training of junior staff for oral development projects.

10. Contribute to overall national security through food production and distribution for enhancing natural food self-sufficiency.¹²

River Basin Development Authorities and Economic Development: The Nigerian Experience

River basin development authorities in Nigeria have not made significant contribution to Nigeria’s economic development particularly judging from the broad mandates outlined in the decree establishing them.

Agricultural contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product,(GDP), particularly since the 1980s up to this twenty-first century remains highly insignificant. Some of the reasons usually analyzed for this ugly trend in the sector are linked to the discovery of oil and the subsequent oil boom of 1970s which led to the neglect of agriculture including the river basins by government. In this perspective, the oil boom led to the neglect of river basins development in Nigeria. Olatubosm avers;

The oil boom resulting from the Arab oil embargo on the USA in 1973 affected the Nigerian agricultural sector adversely. The economy became heavily dependent on oil. By 1977, the share of agriculture to GDP declined from 48.23 percent in 1971 to about 21 percent. The percentage of agricultural export declined from 20.7% in 1971 to 5.71% in 1977 by this time, oil revenue represented 90% of foreign earnings. By 1980, agriculture made only 4.0% of Nigeria’s export¹³

The River Basin Development Authorities in the area of industrialization have not attracted the much needed industrialization. River Basin Development Authorities were set-up to produce all year round food and cash crops for manufacturing industries both within and outside Nigeria. The manufacturing sector in Nigeria today is in comatose. Agro-allied industries in Nigeria depend almost absolutely on import of basic raw materials. The River Basin Development Authorities have not been able through their mandate of dam construction, to produce all year round food resources through all-seasons farming.¹⁴ Several reasons have been adduced by experts for this failure. First, Idachaba argues that the basins suffer from the “intended consequences” of policy misconception, arising from establishment of large-scale dams with heavy capital and management intensity and that the inability of government to properly monitor and maintain these dams have threatened their sustainability. Second, corruption and bribery manifest in the diversion of fund meant for critical development of public projects into private pockets and incessant policy summersaults arising from incessant change of government. More recently, is the increasing impact of climate change in most parts of Nigeria especially Northern Nigeria and the inability of government to initiate rapid strategies to combat it. This situation has led to decrease in water level and in some cases incessant floods which destroy dams managed by these basins. This poses a serious threat to National security bearing in mind that famine looms large in Nigeria today, with over 170 million people and annual population growth rate of 2.8%,

River Basin Development Authorities in Nigeria saddled with the responsibilities of dam construction and their utilization for irrigation agriculture germane for food security have not performed creditably. The creation of dams for energy and food production remains a mirage. This has had serious implications on Nigeria’s economic development in diverse ways.¹⁵ first; the poor states of dams constructed by RBDAs in Nigeria account for incessant energy crises in the country which continues to hinder industrialization. Electricity generation in Nigeria remains a conundrum. Many local and foreign manufacturing companies have left Nigeria due to high cost of production arising from poor/lack of constant electricity supply. The various Hydro power (electricity) dams such as Kainji, Kashimbila, and Shiroro dams are in poor conditions. This has made electricity generation very difficult, thereby affecting economic development (industrialization) negatively, Kola Ibrahim avers that:

Nigeria currently generates less than 5,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity while South Africa (with a population of 50 million and Brazil 200 million generate 50, 000 MW and 120, 000MW respectively¹⁶.

As Dike observes, the various hydropower dams in Nigeria suffer from fluctuations in water level occasioned by seasonal changes in rainfall patterns and volumes, lack of maintenance, government neglect and corruption. The acute supply of electricity negatively affects Nigeria’s economic development. Apart from discouraging foreign investors from investing in Nigeria, it accounts for the high cost of basic commodities which affects the population of citizens.  As revealed in 2014 by Kofi Annan in African Progress Report, 621 million Africans do not have access to electricity. About 60% of Sub Saharan African’s (SSA), energy is consumed by South Africa. Although Nigeria made US 89 billion dollars from petroleum in 2013, 93 million Nigerians lack access to electricity.¹⁷

Economic development is about human welfare.

However, hunger and malnutrition consistently threaten Nigerians on a daily basis in gargantuan proportions. Many Nigerians lack access to basic food. RBDAs were set-up to address food sufficiency and availability at both household and national levels. However, famine looms large in Nigeria today. Nigeria is Africa’s net importer of basic staple food. More worrisome is that even in the midst of imported foods, many Nigerians lack the resources (finance) to buy food. Olaoye observes that;

In 2011, Nigeria imported about 3 million Metric tons of Rice valued at N468bn (about 20% of sub-Saharan Africa’s total rice import and over N600bn of wheat … in 2014, Nigeria was the largest importer of rice, spending 1 billion naira ($60 million) daily importing rice and N600bn of wheat. ¹⁸

The unending importation of staple foods into Nigeria is due largely to the failure of RBDAs and other allied agencies of government to boost agricultural productivity. These scenarios have immense implications on Nigeria’s economic development. First, it affects Nigeria’s foreign reserves as government and private business men spend in foreign currencies to import food. This affects the value of Nigeria’s currency (Naira) and accounts for its incessant devaluation and fluctuation in the international market.

Also, it creates unemployment in Nigeria as importation discourages local production; inhibit value chain gains in production processes especially in Agricultural sector

Challenges Facing Nigeria’s River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs)

The establishment of River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs) in 1976 has failed to realize its two basic mandates of increasing production of food and other raw materials to meet the country’s growing population and expanding industries and to attain self-sufficiency in terms of food production and expansion of employment opportunities at the rural levels and the need to develop underground water for domestic use (FRN Gazette, 1976

What are the factors responsible for these failures? Dike identifies five issues which have hindered the performance of RBDAs in Nigeria. Local population who bear heavy social costs of the developments including loss of homes, fertile lands, fishing and fishing good, are not usually consulted in any of the critical decision making phases of project planning, implementation, management and evaluation.¹⁹

Other challenges he noted include:

Policy discontinuity, inadequate funding due to government dwindling revenues and lack of understanding and focus of its core mandates. ²

For instance, Dike observes that the sacking of Shehu Shagari’s administration in the military coup of 1983 denied the basins government attention and funding as the new military government paid little attention. In 1992, as a result of the implementation of Structural Adjustment Programme, (SAP), substantial subsidy on irrigation was dropped. This was the fallout of the government’s inability to shoulder the cost of development in the face of slumping revenue and mounting foreign debt obligation. In fact, the underlying economic philosophy of SAP was predicated on the assumption that agriculture was poorly a private sector business

Since the 1970s up to 2017, political manipulation and politicization of river basins have hampered economic development of Nigeria. Akindele observes:

The failure of Nigeria to experience rapid agricultural and economic development are due to the failures of the various agricultural programmes such as Operation Feed the Nation (OFR), the Green Revolution, RBDAs, Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI) to achieve their aims and objectives which can be mainly attributed to the factors of political environment and actions of political actors which have been incompatible with managerial and organizational goals of the authority since its establishment.²¹

In the areas of efficient and effective water supply, the RBDAs have made infinitesimal impact. As Jibril observes, many urban centres and rural areas in Nigeria do not have access to safe drinking water. Most of the Dams constructed by RBDAs in Nigeria are not secured. Dam insecurity as a result of apparent technical defects hinders efficiency. Many existing dams suffer from seepage through dam foundation works, shortage of spillway, flood capacity, decrease of effective storage due to excessive sediment inflow, damages of values among others.²²

Flooding is also a major challenge facing RBDAs in Nigeria. Flooding, described as a situation where a usually dry land is covered with water from a flowing river, dam or heavy rain, has become a common occurrence which the RBDAs, statutorily created to tackle, have been engulfed with. The source of flooding in Nigeria is not only from within the country but from outside. For instance, the 2012 floods that ravaged many states of Nigeria emanated from Cameroon. This followed the decision of the Cameroonian government to open the Lagdom dam. The flood that characterized this and the unpreparedness of the Nigerian government led to the 2012 floods which wreaked havoc in many parts of Nigeria. In order to ensure that Nigerian farmers are protected from floods, the RBDAs were created to construct dams. Such dams were to provide reservoir in cases of floods and to protect farmers and residents from floods

For instance, the release of water from the Lagdom dam in neighboring Cameroon, caused serious flooding in Kogi, Benue, Taraba, Bauchi states and in many other coastal states like Lagos, Bayelsa, Delta among others. In most of these floods, human lives and property were lost leading to population displacement. For instance, in the MDG end point report 2015, it was stated that:

In July 2001, 16,000 people were displaced by flood in Sokoto. In the same month, 12,398 were affected in Zamfara, while over 200,000 people were affected in Nigeria in April 2001. From August to September, 2012, over 7, 700,000 people were affected by flood across 32 states of Nigeria. ²³

The 2012 flood had the most debilitating effects on Nigeria’s economic development. More closely related to the above is the challenge of Boko Haram terrorism in northern Nigeria, and militants in the Niger Delta. Boko Haram terrorism has led to suspension of RBDAs activities in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, among others. Their activities have led to the death of active farmers and forced many RBDA staff to relocate from the north. In early 2015, Boko Haram took control of Niger Chad basin authority and suspended economic activities in the basin. Today, about 2.1 million are internally displaced persons languishing in Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps. Similarly, Niger Delta militant such as the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF), Movement For The Emancipation of Niger Deltas (MEND) which have led to vandalization of oil pipelines and subsequent oil spillage also constitute major impediments to the smooth functioning of Niger Delta River Basin Authority. This has affected both RBDAs capacity to boost agriculture and engender rapid economic development of Nigeria²⁵.

Overcoming these avalanche of challenges requires a wholistic approach. First, legislative reform is necessary to give RBDA independence. The agency is tied to the Federal Ministry Of Agriculture and the activities of ministers occasioned by incessant change of government disrupt stable policy planning administration. Second, adequate funding is imperative. RBDA administrators have consistently remarked that their inability to transform agriculture irrigation system is due to paucity of fund. Even when funds are made available, a large chunk is spent on administration. For instance, in most RBDAs, is the existence of five departments – Administration, and Finance, Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries, Engineering and Planning each with managers and deputy managers which leads to duplication of functions, waste of fund and overstaffing. In the Ogun Riven Basins in 1985 budgets, salaries and wages gulped 2 million of the total N4 million allocate to the five departments. Agriculture, the purpose for which the authority was created only got 4 million (about 10 percent). Generally, security is important in any country. The Boko Haram terrorists and Niger Delta militants must be tackled by the government to ensure that governance is unhindered.

Adequate monitoring of the projects and finances of RBDAs is very imperative in ensuring that funds are properly appropriated and used for the purpose intended. Both the ministry of agriculture and the legislature must routine; through over sight function, supervise the activities of the authorities. Besides, anaval independent audit of all the RBDAs in Nigeria must be entrenched. In order to boost productivity and efficiency, there is the need to partner with private investors to develop dams in Nigeria.

Conclusion

River Basin Development Authorities were established in Nigeria to manage Nigeria’s surface water in order to boost agriculture, generate additional drinking water, and for techno-industrial uses. From the initial nine River Basin Authorities, the number of basins increased to twelve (12). However, in spite of their ubiquitous nature, their contributions to Nigeria’s economic development have been negligible. This is due to poor management, insecurity particularly the Boko Haram Insurgency in the North eastern part of the country as well as the activities of militants in the Niger Delta region. In order to transform the fortune of River Basins in Nigeria so as they make pivotal role in the economic development. With the surge in population of Nigeria, the task of feeding over two hundred million people will depend mainly in a well-developed mechanized agriculture particularly through the transformation of the river basins in Nigeria. The Federal Government of Nigeria in collaboration with state and local governments and international development partners must intensify efforts to reform the current inefficient river basins for optimum production and national economic development. Adequate funding through improved budgetary allocation, transparency and accountability in the management of the affairs of the river basins must be sustained to curtail corruption and nepotism.

Endnotes

1. John, F.E.O, The State and Economic Development in Nigeria Under the Military Rule, 1966-1979, in Tekena, N. Tamuno and Atanda, J.A., Nigeria Since the First 25 Years, Volume IV, Ibadan: Heinemann,19889, PP.150-152

2. Olaoye, O.E., Agric transformation: tackling Nigeria’s food import dependency, Zenith Economic Quarterly, July, 2012. Pp14-18.

3. Ahokegh, A.F,Migrations in the Benue Basin and the Indigeneship/Settler Question, African Journal of Economy and Society, Volume 10, Number 1&2, 2010, p.217

4. Ahokegh, A.F, ,Migrations in the Benue Basin and the Indigeneship/Settler Question, African Journal of Economy p.217

5. Federal Government of Nigeria River Basin Authority Decree p.8

6. Todaro,M.P., EconomicDevelopment, 6th edition, London: Longman, 1997

7. Todaro,M.P., EconomicDevelopment, 6th edition, London: Longman, 1997

8. Njoku, O.N, Economic history of Nigeria, 19th& 20th centuries, Enugu: magnet publishers, 2001:

9. Njoku, O.N, Economic history of Nigeria, 19th& 20th centuries, Enugu: magnet publishers, 2001:

10. Adeoti, O, The Development of River Basin Organizations in Nigeria, Research Journal of Social and Water management 1 (3-4) 91-100, 2010.

11. Onwuanaeze, D. The Failed River Basins, Newswatch Magazine, August, 3, 2009, p.25

12. Onwuanaeze, D. The Failed River Basins, Newswatch Magazine, August, 3, 2009, p.25

13. Olatubosun Views quoted by Onwuanaeze, D. The Failed River Basins, Newswatch Magazine, August, 3, 2009, p.25

14. Adeoti, O, The Development of River Basin Organizations in Nigeria, Research Journal of Social..p417.

15. Demola, Abimboye, A Revolution Abandoned, Newswatch Magazine, August, 3, 2009, p.17

16. Kola Ibrahim, Electricity Privatization : Electricity Crisis May Trigger Nigeria’s Next Uprising

http://www.socialistnigeria.org/page.php=2363

17. Power People Plante ; Seizing Africa’s Energy and Climate Opportunities, Africa Progress Report, 2015, P44

18. Olaoye, O.E., Agric transformation: tackling Nigeria’s food import dependency, Zenith Economic Quarterly, July, 2012. Pp14-18.

19. Onwuanaeze, D. The Failed River Basins, Newswatch Magazine, August, 3, 2009, p.25

20. Onwuanaeze, D. The Failed River Basins, Newswatch Magazine, August, 3, 2009, p.25

21. Akindele S,T.and A. Adebo, The political economy of river basin and rural development authority in Nigeria: a retrospective case study of Owena-River Basin and rural development authority (ORBRDA), Journal of Human Ecology, 16 (1), 55-62, 2014.

22. Akanima J.O, et al, Chronicles of River Basin management in Nigeria, international congress on river basin management FGN: millennium development goals end point report 2014, obtained.

23. Nigeria MDGs End Point Report, 2015,p.25

24. Tolu, Ogunlesi, The Nigeria Paradox: Gloom and Bloom, New Africa Magazine, May 2014. Pp9-13.

25. Tolu, Ogunlesi, The Nigeria Paradox: Gloom and Bloom, New Africa Magazine, May 2014. Pp9-13.

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