Nigeria has called on Japan and other international partners to collaborate in addressing security challenges in Africa.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar made the call while speaking at the Ministerial Meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) recently held in Tokyo, Japan.
Ambassador Tuggar decried the spate of security threats in Africa and its implications for the continent’s development.
He said that “Africa’s security and development landscape is increasingly witnessing complex threats in the form of terrorism and transnational organised crimes.”
The Minister said that these vices are destabilizing Africa’s peace and security, undermining democracy and good governance, and discouraging foreign direct investment on the continent.
Ambassador Tuggar however reiterated Africa’s commitment to leveraging the TICAD’s multi-dimensional approaches to addressing the root drivers of the security challenges encumbering its development.
The Minister also stated that “the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, the presence of foreign mercenaries, the impact of climate change, and the availability of safe havens encouraging illicit financial flows are worrisome to the continent, stating that the continent loses an estimated US$88.6bn annually to illicit flows or the equivalent of 3% of its GDP.”
He also drew attention to the activities of cryptocurrency pirates undermining macroeconomic reforms on the continent by attacking local currencies.
The Minister posited these exogenous factors are responsible for the Unconstitutional Change of Governments (UCGs) being witnessed on the continent.
Furthermore, Ambassador Tuggar noted that these security challenges could be the reason for the perceived decline in Japanese investment in Africa.
He, however, encouraged Japan not to shy away, but to work with African leaders and other African development partners towards tackling the challenges.
Ambassador Tuggar equally emphasised that multidimensional support from Japan and other partners is required to actualise the global desire for a developed Africa. He called for increased support in addressing the security concerns in the Lake Chad region, the Great Lakes, and the Sahel regions, as well as Sudan, Somalia, and other parts of Africa currently facing security challenges.
Ambassador Tuggar also proposed that, the TICAD 9 Summit should focus on providing strategic infrastructure, foreign direct investments, capacity building, and the transfer of technology to support the growth of indigenous entrepreneurship, and innovation as well as engage in the progressive empowerment of women and youths in Africa.
He called on Japan to join Africa in pushing for the reform of the United Nations Security Council in support of Africa’s quest for fair and equitable representation in the Security Council, which is ethically just and temporally restitutive.
The Minister said, “Africa deserves two seats in the permanent and non–permanent categories, as encapsulated in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration.”
Mercy Chukwudiebere
