ECOWAS Defence Chiefs Beg Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso To Return

The Chiefs of Defence Staff in West Africa have appealed to Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to return to the regional bloc.

The chairman of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff and the Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, made the appeal on Friday while leading the Defence Chiefs on a visit to the National Coordinator of the Counter-terrorism Centre, Maj. Gen. Adamu Laka, in Abuja.

The regional Defence Chiefs said their return was necessary to defeat the insecurity ravaging the West Africa region, especially insurgency.

General Musa stated that efforts were ongoing on their part to ensure that the three countries were back to ECOWAS, adding that all hands must be on deck to curtail insecurity in West Africa.

He said, “For us, we feel without security, there can’t be progress. And the threats we are facing, especially on insurgency, are high, and we think it’s very, very important that we need to partner together to achieve success. No country can do it alone, and that’s why it’s important.

“We know we have three countries that have decided to step aside. We’re making all efforts to ensure that they come back to the fold because we know even they, on their own, they cannot withstand this. And we know the relevance that if they fall, it will also drag us down.

“And that’s why it’s important for us as West Africans to continue to work together. I appreciate the National Coordinator for doing a wonderful job. He just came in in April, and there’s so much that has taken place, and that is something we’re very proud of.”

The CDS said the insurgency in the region was spreading wide and fast and urged the ECOWAS Defence Chiefs to leave no stone unturned to curb the menace.

He said, “Insurgency is on the increase and spreading very, very wide and very fast. So we must do everything possible to ensure that we nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand. So, on behalf of all of us, we are happy to be here.

“We are sure that we’re going to work together to ensure that there is total peace in our own region. I had the privilege of being the theatre commander in the North-East when this horrendous exercise started, and it started like a joke.

“I think that’s what we need to encourage from all experiences, showing that the kinetic efforts can only do so much. The non-kinetic does more. But we need the two of them to go hand in hand, and that’s what we have to continue doing.”

In his remarks, the National Coordinator of the Nigeria’s Counter-terrorism Centre, Maj. Gen. Laka said there was a need for cooperation among the West African countries to defeat terrorism.

He also said countries in the region must share experiences, adding that experience sharing is one of the ways to overcome.

Laka said, “We hope to partner with our brothers in the West African sub-region and the Sahel. They say if your brother’s house is on fire, it can also reach yours.

“So we need to learn from one another. We don’t plan to make this place the only place. We plan to partner with Abidjan. So, it’s going to be a partnership. While we are experts in the preventive aspects, we are going to partner with all those centres to address the threat of terrorism. Once the declaration is passed, we plan to visit your centre in Abidjan.

“We are in the process of talking about how we are going to come together to address this threat that is really stopping development and stopping our people from reaping the dividends of democracy.

“So, Nigeria, we have so much experience. I know every country has its own experience. The only way we can address this threat is to share our experiences to address them.”

Laka said the centre is well equipped to address the threat of terrorism.

He added, “Part of the things we have in this facility to address the threat of terrorism, we have state-of-the-art forensic laboratories. We have the toxicology labs, the fingerprint labs, the DNA labs, the handwriting labs, and so on. These are things that will facilitate the threat of terrorism investigation and so on.”