Bakolori Dam

Bakolori Dam
Bakolori Dam is located in Nigeria
Bakolori Dam
Location of Bakolori Dam in Nigeria
LocationNigeria
Coordinates12°30′43″N 6°11′0″E / 12.51194°N 6.18333°E / 12.51194; 6.18333
Construction began1974
Opening date1978
Dam and spillways
Type of damEarth-fill embankment
ImpoundsMaradun, zamfara state
Height48m
Length360m
Reservoir
Total capacity450,000,000 cu.m
Power Station
Installed capacity11 MW

The Bakolori Dam is in Sokoto State in northwest Nigeria. It was completed in 1978 and its reservoir filled by 1981. It is a major reservoir on the Sokoto River, a tributary of the Rima River, which in turn feeds the Niger River. Water from the dam supplies the Bakolori Irrigation Project.[1]

The dam has a capacity of 450 million cubic meters, with a reservoir covering 8,000 hectares extending 19 km (12 mi) upstream.[2]

Dam construction displaced many peasant farmers without providing alternative land or financial compensation. Many people died in protests over their loss of livelihood.[3] The project has become known as a classic example of development failure.[4]

  1. ^ Akané Hartenbach & Jürgen Schuol (October 2005). "Bakolori Dam and Bakolori Irrigation Project – Sokoto River, Nigeria" (PDF). Eawag aquatic research institute. Retrieved 2010-01-10.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ MOHAMMED KUTA YAHAYA (2002). "DEVELOPMENT AND CHALLENGES OF BAKOLORI IRRIGATION PROJECT IN SOKOTO STATE, NIGERIA" (PDF). Nordic Journal of African Studies. 11 (3): 411–430. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  3. ^ Displacement and the politics of violence in Nigeria. BRILL. 1997. p. 76. ISBN 90-04-10876-9.
  4. ^ David Anderson; Richard H. Grove (1990). Conservation in Africa: Peoples, Policies and Practice. Cambridge University Press. p. 312. ISBN 0-521-34990-7.