‘African militaries must develop unified approach against insecurity’

As global security challenges continue to be volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, Chiefs of Army Staff of various African countries and their allies must develop a unified approach to confronting those challenges.

Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin, said this yesterday in Abuja at the opening ceremonies of the 6th African Land Forces Summit organised by the United States Army Africa in conjunction with the Nigerian Army. The CDS said the summit, with the theme: “Unity is Strength: Combating Africa’s Security Challenges,” came at the right time the African continent is faced with asymmetry security threats, and the militaries and other stakeholders striving to counter and neutralise them.

He said: “The summit will increase the capacity and competence of African armies to provide security throughout the continent. The knowledge gained and ideas share at this summit will be instructive in solving Africa’s problems which are better comprehended and manage by Africans. These are due to our complex scenario in a continent of over one billion people with more than two thousand spoken languages.

“This diversity and the growth of national and transnational violent organisations have there’re buttress the need for building military partnership across the continent through collaborations that promote collective and interacted approach to handling regional security issues.” Continuing, he said: “Violent extremism, terrorism, human trafficking and proliferation of small arms and light weapons, as well as piracy have continued to pose security challenges to our individual and collective countries. Tackling these challenges require comprehensive decisions and unified approach by all stakeholders.

Therefore there is a need for sincere and active collaboration between all stakeholders to strangulate sources of funding, weapons and those that pose and have the potentials to pose security challenges at national, regional and continental level. “These collaborations can only be possible if we form lasting friendship that will accommodate common interest and aspirations to safeguard Africa.” Earlier, the United States Vice Chief of Staff , Gen. James McConville, said the only way countries could defeat their adversaries is by forming alliances with others. He said with the nature of the participants, which he described as experienced, the outcome of the summit would help in solving problems of insecurity in African and globally. In his welcome address, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff , Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, said the Nigerian Army’s was committed to take lead roles in Africa towards ensuring peace, security and sustainable development.

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