ECOWAS: Buhari advocates security partnership to check cross-border terrorism

From Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja with agency reports

President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday stressed the need for an enduring security partnership among member countries of the ECOWAS to confront and defeat the evil of cross-border terrorism. He spoke at the 56th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority Heads of State and Government in Abuja. Terrorism, according to him, has remained the major threat to the peace and progress of the sub-region, and observed that the recurring attempts by terrorist groups had reminded the ECOWAS leaders and all peace-loving citizens of the urgency to build an enduring security partnership to confront them.

Buhari called for a minute silence in honour of victims of terrorist attacks in the Tilabari Region of Niger Republic, where over 70 soldiers and other citizens were killed by the terrorists. He said: “It was with great shock and immense pain that I received the news of the tragedy last week in the Tilabari Region of Niger Republic, where over 33 valiant soldiers and other citizens of the country were brutally massacred in yet another cowardly terrorist attack by these enemies of peace and progress. As we mourn this enormous loss, our thoughts and sympathies go to the families of these heroes and the entire people of Niger Republic.”

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Buhari restated Nigeria’s commitment to regional integration and stressed the need for the regional leaders to always channel their energies towards realising new strategies and initiatives. He expressed the hope that such initiatives would accelerate the attainment of regional aspirations for sustainable peace, security, stability and inclusive economic growth. “To achieve these, we must put our people at the heart of our policies,” he said.

In his opening address, the Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government and President of Republic of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, highlighted the dangers posed by terrorist groups to people and economy of the member-states. Issoufou, who also ordered for a minute silence for those soldiers killed by terrorists in his country, Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, said ECOWAS member-countries must come together to fight terrorism to a standstill for meaningful developments in the sub-region. He said: “The creation of a common area of peace, security and economic integration is without the slightest doubt the key to the future of our region.

“Current regional and global developments in security, constraint me to dwell on the security situation of our region. Our region has been hard hit by terrorist attacks every passing day, threatening almost all the national and regional achievements we have made. We therefore hope that the prompt implementation of the recommendations of our extraordinary summit on terrorism held on Sept. 14 in Ouagadougou will enable us collectively meet this challenge, which appears to be an attack by faithless criminals, on our dignity and sovereignty.

“The terrorist attacks continually test our commitment to fighting the scourge. It is therefore incumbent upon us to respond to all these attacks with firmness and determination,”

Also speaking, President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, Mr. Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, said more than 1,800 civilians and military personnel have lost their lives to terrorist attacks in the last 11 months in the West African sub-region. Close to three million others were   displaced from home during the same period, he said. Brou said that during the same period, terrorist attacks increased at 80% in the region, compared to same period of 2018.

He, however, charged leaders of the West African nations to, in compliance with an agreement reached at a summit in Burkina Faso capital, Ouagadougou, release an initial amount of $100 million to support the fight against terrorism. According to him, “In the first eleven months of 2019, terrorist attacks increased almost 80%, compared to the same period in 2018 and cause more than 1,800 civilian and military casualties. This situation has led to a humanitarian crisis with the displacement of near 2.8 million people and the closure of hundreds of schools.

“Pursuant to the resolutions of the Ouagadougou Summit, you have decided to use domestic funding for the counter-terrorism effort. To that end, I would like to welcome the decision of the UEMOA Summit to disburse an initial amount of 100 million dollars to support this effort.” He further said, “At the political level, our region continues to make progress with regard to deepening democracy. In this regard, I am pleased to mention that the clarity of your decisions and your dedication in implementing them, made it possible to organise the first round of the presidential election in Guinea-Bissau, in accordance with the adopted road map.

“We will continue to support this sister nation, for the peaceful conduct of the run-off election, to culminate in credible results. The success we will thus achieve will encourage us to look to the future, with even greater confidence and optimism in terms of entrenching democracy in our region.” The President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, revealed that the bank was rated as the fourth most transparent institution globally last year. “The African Development Bank was rated number one – together with the World Bank and the Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunisation (GAVI) – by the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN) that ranks global institutions for their fitness for purpose.

“The African Development Bank has totally rebranded itself. Today, with our High 5s – Light up and power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialise Africa, Integrate Africa and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa – we are helping to deliver impressive results for Africa,” he said. Adesina, who expressed delight over the partnership between the African Development Bank and the ECOWAS Commission, said in the past four years, the bank had helped to support 18 million people connected to electricity and 141 million people with access to agricultural technologies for food security. He also revealed that the bank had provided 13 million people with access to finance; 101 million people with access to improved transport and 60 million people with access to improved water and sanitation.