Niger–Nigeria relations on the waters of the Niger River and Lake Chad. Both areas face rapid desertification and increasing demands for water. The two nations are members of the Niger Basin Authority (successor to the 1964 Niger River Commission), the Lake Chad Commission, and the "Niger-Nigeria Joint Committee" has special focus on water and water development issues. The two nations are signatories of The Enugu Agreement (3 December 1977) on common regulations for fauna and flora among the member states of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad). On 15 January 1990 the two nations signed "The Abuja Agreement"
Chad Basin the Wadai capital of Abéché was occupied by the French. The remainder of the basin was divided by the British in Nigeria who took Kano in 1903, and the Germans in Kameroun. The countries of the basin regained their independence between 1956 and 1962, retaining the colonial administrative boundaries. As of 2011, over 30 million people lived in the Chad Basin. The population is growing rapidly. Ethnic groups include Kanuri, Maba, Buduma, Hausa, Kanembu, Kotoko, Bagger, Haddad, Kuri, Fulani and Manga. The largest cities are Kano and Maiduguri in Nigeria, Maroua in Cameroon, N'Djamena in Chad and Diffa in Niger.