Details Of Nigeria’s Defence Chief’s Address During Meeting With ECOWAS Defence Chiefs Emerge 

The Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, on Wednesday, condemned military takeover in some West African countries.

Musa noted that the military takeover in the affected countries has created unintended consequences and threatened democratic values in the region.

He stated this at the 42nd Ordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff in Abuja.

General Musa said the threat of military takeover must be destroyed, adding that it negates the core values and responsibilities of the military profession.

He added that in democratic countries, the military must uphold democratic values in line with the principles of their constitutions.

Musa said, “Recent challenges like the military coups in some countries in the region have had unintended consequences and have threatened our collective democratic values.

“This threat must be destroyed as it negates our core responsibilities as military professionals. Let me, therefore, use this opportunity to emphasise that, as democratic countries, we in the military must uphold democratic values in line with our various constitutions.

“I am optimistic that this meeting will assist us in preventing such abnormalities while strengthening our collective resolve to bring about peace and sustainable development to our people.

“Accordingly, the complexity of this meeting demands that we leverage our collective efforts, share intelligence, and coordinate our efforts across borders if we must solve these challenges. Thus, collaboration is paramount and I encourage you to address both the root causes and symptoms of this insecurity in our region. It is on this premise that the agenda for this meeting was carefully crafted to focus on critical areas and build on our previous engagements.”

General Musa said terrorism, insurgency, organised crime, violence and unconstitutional government takeovers threaten national security and undermine the socio-economic development of the entire region.

He further stated, “Your presence here reflects a shared commitment and dedication towards living in a sustainable environment for the safety and well-being of our people.

“It demonstrates a collective drive to address the various community threats affecting the region through deliberate and concerted collaborative efforts. As leaders in our respective armed forces, we are all aware of the threats that confront our nations and regions. These threats include terrorism, insurgency, organised crime, violence, [and] recently, unconstitutional takeover of government and national politics. These challenges not only threaten our national security but also undermine the social fabric and socio-economic development of the entire region.”

Also, the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abubakar; and his Foreign Affairs counterpart, Yusuf Tuggar; challenged the service chiefs from the regional bloc to tackle terrorism through effective collaboration to combat illicit movement of small arms and light weapons in West African sub-region.

The meeting held at the Defence Headquarters in Nigeria’s capital city Abuja has regional security as one of its agenda at a time the bloc is considering the establishment of a force that will counter security challenges.

Of the 15 defence chiefs expected at the meeting, those of Cape Verde, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Togo were absent.

At the end of the previous meeting last year August, the defence chiefs had agreed to a comprehensive and holistic approach towards political, security and diplomatic dimensions in addressing the situation in Niger Republic.

The military regimes in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger had set up the mutual defence pact, leaving the wider Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc in January.

In July, the three country’s leaders took part in the first summit of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), set up after pulling out of ECOWAS.

Their ECOWAS exit was fuelled in part by their accusation that Paris was manipulating the bloc, and not providing enough support for anti-jihadist efforts.