The Commandants of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS Training Centers of Excellence, TCEs, have reiterated their commitment to peace and security in the region.
The pledge was made at the 2024 edition of the TCEs in Abuja, Nigeria coordinated by the Directorate of Peacekeeping and Regional Security, DPRKS, to support the training, capacity building and research among other issues for the development of the ECOWAS Standby Force, ESF, as well as contribute to the general peace and security within the ECOWAS region.
Declaring the meeting open, the Commandant of the National Defence College, Abuja, Rear Admiral Olumuyiwa Olotu said the meeting falls on an auspicious time that necessitates the collective commitment to engage in constructive discussions towards expanding the scoop of collaboration between the ECOWAS and the TCEs.
“So this meeting provides a platform for this college to jointly interact with the ECOWAS commission, the African Union Commission, along with other Training Centres of Excellence to discuss issues of cooperation, collaboration and challenges of training, especially as it relates to the operationalization of ECOWAS Standby Force in particular, and the African Standby Force in general.” He said.
Rear Admiral Olotu said the National Defence College has been able to facilitate the mandate of the TCEs to conduct training and tactical, at operational and strategic levels.
“As a Training Centre of Excellence, for ECOWAS and the African Union at the strategic level, the National Defence College has been able to take on this mandate through programmes and activities like coordination meetings, training, capacity building, seminars, workshops, exercises and partnerships with various institutions and stakeholders in peace and security.” He added.
On the area of civilian participation in Peace Keeping Operations, the Commandant said significant progress has been made through policy development, training, and capacity building as well as research.
He also mentioned that progress has been made in view of training for the police components, through the conduct of policing and sustainable peace course at the strategic level, under the ECOWAS peace and security architecture operations project.
Also, ECOWAS Commissioner Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Abdel-Fatau Musa said it has become imperative to move the collaborations in the region toward strategic operations.
Musa decried the absence of the Ecole de Maintien de la Paix Alioune Blondin Beye in Mali, EMPABB (the third TCEs) from the meeting, stating that it highlights the conflict in the region, particularly as Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger had opted to leave the bloc.
“that brings me to why this exercise is so critical today. You look at our region, it is the first time since the return of the region to constitution order in the 1990s that we’ve had about 9 or 10 successful or unsuccessful coups with four member countries currently under military rule in our region.” He said
The ECOWAS Commissioner emphasized the need for a repositioning and unity to effectively counter the insecurity festering in the region, particularly in the Sahel area.
Musa called for training, capacity building, and action oriented research with regard to combating the challenges in the region.
