Nigeria’s president and chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said the security challenges in the West Coast had been thoroughly reviewed and a properly-funded strategy would be instituted to tackle terrorism.
Tinubu made the disclosure after a meeting with presidents of the Republic of Benin, Guinea-Bissau, and Niger Republic, in Abuja.
‘‘We have no problems raising funds. We believe we have the instruments to do that. We believe we are capable of raising necessary funds to combat terrorism in the sub-region,’’ the president said.
Tinubu noted that the West African leaders had extensive deliberations on sustaining democracy on the West Coast and fashioning out the framework for confronting security.
In parallel, ECOWAS decided on Tuesday to form a committee of Nigeria, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, and Nigeria to find alternative security solutions after the UN's Mali withdrawal, according to The Defense Post website.
On behalf of this task force, the President of Benin, Patrice Talon, will soon travel to Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea to discuss security and democratic transitions after the coups in the three countries.
The Moroccan security affairs expert, Mohamed Bouchikhi, considers that it is still early to make a judgment regarding the “strategy”.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that despite reassurances by Tinubu that the required funding is available, the matter depends on a declaration of intent given the challenging economic conditions that the G5 countries are witnessing.
Bouchikhi added that the bad economic conditions of the African countries make the strategy's success hinge on the “support of the Western countries that have concerns that the African countries could appease terrorists in case they failed to confront them”.
In April, US officials said that the US is preparing long-term assistance for the Ivory Coast, Benin, and Togo amid rising concerns that armed groups and Russian power in the Sahel could expand into coastal West Africa.
Vice President Kamala Harris visited Ghana in March as part of a growing US push in Africa. She promised $100 million over 10 years to reinforce resilience in coastal West Africa.
Ahmed Sultan, the Egyptian expert on extremist groups, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the new strategy will be adopted in coordination with Washington and the Western powers, as part of the strategic competition with China and Russia.
