African leaders determined to eradicate terrorism and military coups in Africa – Envoys

By Mark Longyen

African leaders are determined to eradicate terrorism and unconstitutional changes in government, say ambassadors from ECOWAS and the African Union.

The envoys disclosed this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the end of a consultative meeting between the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council (MSC) and the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) on Thursday in Abuja.

They said terrorism and unconstitutional changes in governance are the two biggest existential threats facing the continent.

For example, Am. Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, disclosed that the ECOWAS MSC and the AU PSC were already stepping up numerous efforts to resolve the asymmetric challenges facing Africa.

He said such efforts are being vigorously implemented under the auspices of the 1999 AU Convention against Terrorism and the 2019 ECOWAS Action Plan for the Eradication of Terrorism.

“It is about how to internalize predictable cooperation arrangements between the African Union, the regional economic communities and the regional mechanisms across a broad area.

“We have chosen terrorism and unconstitutional changes of government as the key issues to discuss because these are the two existential threats facing the West African region today.

“We will have a clear roadmap or joint action plan between ECOWAS and the African Union on the challenges facing West Africa, regarding a framework for action, and jointly marshal resources to address and meet the challenges we face to the needs of the time.

“To deal effectively with terrorism, we must actually work kinetically to ensure that terrorists are driven out of our region, and to prevent them from coming back, we must restore the social contract between the people and the government. ,” he said.

Also speaking, Amb. Musa Nuhu, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to ECOWAS and Chairman of the MSC, said ECOWAS is leveraging synergy with the AU, sister regional economic groups and global partners to tackle African terrorism and unconstitutional change of government challenges.

“We are talking about coordination and synergy in addressing so many emerging issues as the continent faces unconstitutional changes of government, terrorism, banditry and other threats.

“ECOWAS as a region must work with other regional economic groups such as the Economic Community of Central African States, ECCAS, which is our immediate neighbor, and the African Union, which is the umbrella body.

“This is to ensure that there is synergy and cooperation in combating these challenges,” the ambassador said.

Am. Nuhu disclosed that it was Nigeria that initiated the draft agenda and modalities for the first consultative meeting between the AU-ECOWAS PSC and MSC, with the aim of turning the tide of violent conflict in Africa.

Am. Jainaba Jagne, Permanent Representative of The Gambia to the AU and The AU-PSC chairman also identified terrorism, violent extremism and the resurgence of unconstitutional regime changes as Africa’s major scourges that must be decimated.

“So the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council is working very closely with the African Union Peace and Security Council to address the emerging threats that we have on the continent.

“We have terrorism, we have extreme violence, we have unconstitutional changes of government, so all these points are areas where we need to collaborate, synergize and work to ensure that we combat all these scourges that we are experiencing now on the continent.

“The African Union Peace and Security Council has held meetings, where we discussed not only the Sahel issues, but also the Lake Chad basin, we held discussions with the Multinational Joint Task Force and other entities.

“These efforts must ensure that the solutions we have are solutions that are sustainable, solutions that work in the long term for all these countries that are unfortunately suffering the scourge of terrorism and, unfortunately, in some cases, resulting in unconstitutional changes in the government,” she said.

Also speaking, Amb. African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Bankole Adeoye said terrorist financing is a crucial enabler of terrorism, which the AU is focusing on “to rid the continent of terrorism and silence its weapons to bring.”

“The root causes of terrorism are well known and the African Union, ECOWAS and other regional bodies are effectively addressing them. One of the enablers of terrorism is sponsorship and financing, mainly from external sources, and in some cases local.

“That’s why you need an effective financial intelligence system that looks at the global picture and works with the UN counter-terrorism office.

“Through our own African Union Center for the Study and Research of Terrorism, we are tackling this curse because it is necessary to nip it in the bud, and once you cut that lifeline, most terrorists will no longer be able to survive . ,” Adeoye added.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Sadiya Hamza