The West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR) has called for regional cooperation and stronger synergy among governments, security agencies, and citizens to address the ravaging insecurity in the Sahel region.

Agnes Thomasi, station manager of WADR in Dakar, Senegal, stated this in Abuja on Thursday during a public debate on ‘Security in the Sahel: Effects, Challenges, Strategies and the Way Forward’.

Ms Thomasi explained that the debate was part of activities under the project ‘Providing Quality and Relevant Information: A Counter Narrative on the Security Situation in the Sahel’.

She said the debate was the second phase of the WADR project under the Open Society Foundation (OSF), an Africa’s Security and Rights project.
According to her, the goal is to contribute to peace-building in Africa.

She said the debate was apt, considering the current state of insecurity in Nigeria, characterised by terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and farmers-herders conflict, among others.

Senator Ireogbu, the convener of the Geopolitics Series, described the Sahel region as a vast area in Africa, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea.

Mr Ireogbu added that the region was a transition zone between the Sahara Desert to the north and the more fertile savannas to the south.

Speaking on ‘The Current Security Situation in the Sahel: The Nigerian Perspective,’ Mr Ireogbu said the region was facing serious security challenges.

He identified some of the security threats as coups, insurgencies, and terrorism, with high birth rates and corruption exacerbating the security challenge, making life exceedingly difficult for the people.

He pointed out that Nigeria, a key player in the Sahel, was being threatened by extremist groups, including armed conflicts and organised crime, such as smuggling and kidnapping.

According to him, understanding and addressing these challenges from a Nigerian perspective is crucial for improving regional stability and security.

He stressed the need for stronger regional cooperation, intelligence sharing, and building resilient local governance and security capacity to curb insecurity.

“Government also need to address poverty and unemployment and strengthen inclusive governance to tackle the menace of insecurity,” he said.

Maji Peters, country director of Equal Access International, blamed the rising insecurity in the Sahel on inequality and lack of trust in the governance system.

Mr Peters, who spoke on ‘The Modus Operandi on Non-State Armed Groups in the Sahel’, said non-state armed groups proliferated in the Sahel due to a lack of public trust in the government.

Speaking on ‘Military Juntas and Populations: What Place for Dissenting Voices and Pro-Democracy Activists?’ Kemi Okenyodo said the role of civil society organisations as watchdogs had been compromised.

Ms Okenyodo, the founder and executive director of the Rule of Law and Empowerment Initiative, said that CSOs have become tribalism, political and donor-dependent, making them weak to influence good governance in Nigeria.

She noted that bad governance breeds insecurity, and civil society movements were no longer effective in monitoring and reporting bad governance to create the needed change for all.

(NAN)