Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar has urged members of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, to seek collective actions to address the root cause of insecurity in the region.
Ambassador Tuggar who made the call at the opening of the 52nd Session of the Mediation and Security Council at the Ministerial level in Abuja, Nigeria highlighted security and humanitarian challenges confronting the region.
The Minister however said despite the various challenges, the region has made significant progress in the areas of democracy and governance.
He stressed that terrorism continues to threaten the collective well-being of the region, while violent extremists operate within and across national borders.
Ambassador Tuggar who is the Chairman of the Council urged the meeting to come up with collective actions required for ECOWAS to overcome the mirage of challenges.
He said: “We are gathering with a deep sense of purpose and unity — driven by our commitment to securing peace and political stability across our region. As we are all aware, our region faces grave security and humanitarian challenges.
“Terrorism continues to threaten our collective well-being. Violent extremists operate within and across our national borders, compromising not just our peace and security, but also our prospects for growth and development. Therefore, as we commence our deliberation, let us be mindful of the critical threats we face – and the collective actions required to overcome them.”
“Terrorism does not recognise borders. From the Sahel to the coastal States, no country is immune to its devastating impact. It is therefore crucial for every country within ECOWAS, including those in the Sahelian belt, to understand that the fight against terrorism is not the burden of a few but a collective responsibility. Therefore, we must remain united, and demonstrate unwavering commitment and resolve to safeguard the lives and futures of our citizens.
“And as we join forces to find common solutions to the continuing challenge of violent extremism and foreign interference, we should also remain mindful of the broader challenge of co- operation to help tackle the underlying causes of instability in our region: climate change, migration, organized criminal activity, global terms of trade and access to financing. Our task today is to consider how best to meet the immediate symptoms of the condition we face – and also how to establish firmer foundations to reduce inequality and poverty and strengthen democracy,”Ambassador Tuggar explained.
In his remarks, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray expressed concern that the region was still being burdened with multiple interlocking threats, including existential ones, posing significant challenges to the unity of ECOWAS member states.
He said; “To complicate the situation, our region has also become the arena of multipolar geostrategic and geopolitical competition, coupled with the explosion of new destructive technologies.”
Dr. Touray disclosed that the bloc is planning a special summit on the future of regional integration to address the subregion’s multifaceted challenges.
He said the summit was necessitated by the challenges of development and rapidly changing geo-strategic and geo-political environment, which complicate regional cohesion and integration processes.
Dr. Touray said; “As we commemorate the 49th anniversary of our collective regional integration project, our region is still confronted with multiple interlocking threats, including existential ones, posing significant challenges.
“The Sahel faces climate and man-made crises, leading to terrorism and violent extremism, while the Gulf of Guinea faces illegal fishing, drug trafficking, and dumping of toxic waste; thus, affecting livelihoods.
“Governance deficits and marginalization have strained social contracts, engendering bitter political rivalries, resource competition, organised crime and violence.”
“The Commission has, in light of the foregoing, commenced technical preparations towards the holding of an inclusive Special Summit on the Future of Regional Integration in West Africa,” he said.
The commission’s President said that, to this end, ECOWAS Ambassadors had earlier met on 29 June, 2024 at the Mediation and Security Council session, to discuss the region’s security situation.
He said that the Ambassadors also deliberated on the efforts being undertaken by the commission at the political, security, humanitarian and preventive diplomacy levels, as well as the summit’s agenda.
Dr. Touray said that the summit would consider the report of the meeting of the 40th MSC at Ambassadorial Level and the memorandum on the political, peace and security situations in the region.
He said the summit would also look at the memorandum on the operationalisation of the ECOWAS security architecture, and presentation of the report of the meeting of ministers of finance and defence, among others.
Dr. Touray expressed confidence that the deliberations at the summit would contribute to informed conclusions and constructive recommendations for the consideration of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government meeting scheduled to take place in Abuja, Nigeria.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
