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The West African Chiefs of Defense Staff stressed the importance of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso reentering the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Friday.
In January, these three military-governed West African nations announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS, citing the organization as a threat to its member states.
The regional Defense Chiefs argue that the reintegration of these countries is essential to effectively combat the region’s security challenges, particularly insurgency.
Chairman of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defense Staff and Nigeria’s Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Musa, led a delegation to meet with Major General Adamu Laka, the National Coordinator of the Counter-terrorism Centre, in Abuja.
During the meeting, Musa stressed the importance of regional cooperation to address the security issues in West Africa.
Musa said, “For us, we feel without security, there can’t be progress. And the threats we are facing, especially on insurgency, are high, and we think it’s very, very important that we need to partner together to achieve success. No country can do it alone, and that’s why it’s important.
“We know we have three countries that have decided to step aside. We are making all efforts to ensure that they come back to the fold because we know even they, on their own, cannot withstand this. And we know the relevance, if they fall, it will also drag us down.
“And that is why it is important for us as West Africans to continue to work together. I appreciate the National Coordinator for doing a wonderful job. He just came in in April and there’s so much that has taken place, and that is something we are very proud of.”
Musa highlighted the urgency of addressing the rising insurgency, urging the Defense Chiefs to take decisive action. “Insurgency is on the increase and spreading very, very wide and very fast. So we must do everything possible to ensure that we nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand. So on behalf of all of us, we are happy to be here.
“We are sure that we’re going to work together to ensure that there is total peace in our region. I had the privilege of being the theatre commander in the Northeast when this horrendous exercise started, and it started like a joke.
“I think that’s what we need to encourage from all experiences, showing that the kinetic efforts can only do so much. The non-kinetic does more. But we need the two of them to go hand in hand, and that’s what we have to continue doing,” he stated.
In his remarks, Major General Laka stressed the importance of cooperation among West African nations in combating terrorism. He advocated for the exchange of experiences as a key strategy for overcoming security threats.
Laka stated, “We hope to partner with our brothers in the West African sub-region and the Sahel. They say if your brother’s house is on fire, it can also reach yours.
“So we need to learn from one another. We don’t plan to make this place the only place. We plan to partner with Abidjan.
“So it’s going to be a partnership. While we are experts in the preventive aspects, we are going to partner with all those centres to address the threat of terrorism.”
“We are in the process of talking about how we are going to come together to address this threat that is stopping development and stopping our people from reaping the dividends of democracy.
“So Nigeria, we have so much experience. I know every country has its own experience. The only way we can address this threat is to share our experiences to address them,” he added.
Highlighting the capabilities of the Counter-terrorism Centre, Laka said, “Part of the things we have in this facility to address the threat of terrorism, we have state-of-the-art forensic laboratories. We have the toxicology labs, the fingerprint labs, the DNA labs, the handwriting labs, and so on. These are things that will facilitate the threat of terrorism investigation and so on.”
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