In Lome;President Buhari Seeks Regional Security Architecture For West And Central Africa

President Muhammadu Buhari in Lome , Togo strongly pitched for the setting up of a regional security architecture in the West and Central African sub-regions , giving clear indication that there is a convergence of strategic interests among the countries of the two sub-regions on security.

In his address at the three summits that took place between Sunday and Tuesday in Lome , these being the ECOWAS ( Economic Community of West African States ) and the ECCAS ( Economic Community Of Central African States ); implementation of Single Currency throughout West Africa by 2020 ; and the 53 rd Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government , President Buhari talked about the need for a united approach to contain terrorism and radicalisation in the sub-regions ; asserted Nigeria’ s leading role in political , social and economic matters ; and reaffirmed the need for close collaboration in dealing with problems affecting their countries.
In a major speech at the ECOWAS- ECCAS summit , the President made clear Nigeria’ s readiness in playing a major role in broader regional security framework along with all the countries in the sub- regions , in the hope of replicating the successful pentagonal security coalition in the Lake Chad area which led to the setting up of a Multinational Joint Task Force ( MNJTF) by Nigeria, Niger, Chad , Cameroon and Benin .

According to him , “Nigeria wishes to encourage other Member States to intensify inter- regional collaboration on maritime security , fight against terrorism and other crimes through effective border control . Respect for rule of law , democracy and promotion of human rights are also vital as they are attributes of good governance, which would enhance the socio -economic development of the two regions .

“As you are all aware , the African Union ( AU ) has designated this year as the Anti- Corruption Year under the theme “ Winning the Fight against Corruption : the Sustainable Path to Africa ’ s Transformation” . As Champion of the theme for the year , I call upon you to join hands in this campaign against corruption, as one of the root causes of conflict and other societal ills .

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