Dam Politics in Northern Nigeria: The Case of the Kafin Zaki Dam

Abstract

Considerable political contention has developed over the dams and large-scale irrigation schemes in northern Nigeria. The reasons are the resettlement of people that they require as well as their environmental effects, their economic inefficiency and other social consequences. This article discusses these issues with reference specifically to the Kafin Zaki Dam proposal, challenging the conventional image of an alignment of international organizations and domestic elites on one side and grassroots forces on the other. The conclusion is that the political contest is carried out essentially at the elite level and that state and international agencies at times do oppose mega-projects that displace people and disrupt ecological processes.