Terrorism in West Africa is as a result of weak governance, poverty, youth unemployment and human rights abuses, the Economic Community of West African States Commission has said.
According to the Commission, Boko Haram attacks in the Lake Chad Basin in the last 10 years have led to more than 30,000 deaths, with terrorism leading to the displacement of over three million people in the region.
ECOWAS also reiterated that fighting terrorism without addressing the root causes would amount to exercise in futility.
The Vice-President of ECOWAS Commission, Finda Koroma, in her speech at the launch of the ‘Early warning study on the spillover
of violent extremism to ECOWAS coastal member state in Abuja, said, “It would be illusionary to fight against terrorism without attacking its root causes such as bad, or weak governance, poverty, youth unemployment and human rights abuses.”
She stated that terrorism had unprecedented humanitarian consequences, noting that to date, more than three million people had been displaced.
“After North-East of Nigeria, the Lake Chad Basin, the Sahel, the Northern Part of Mali, the threats escalated in the Liptako-Gourma region made up of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. From the North of Mali and Burkina Faso, violent extremist groups conducted years back attacks in the southern part of these members states.
“Since 2019, the South-Western regions of Burkina Faso have seen an escalation of jihadist presence from JNIM’s Katibat Macina who are present in the Cascades region and in the forests along the Ivorian border. This explains why Côte d’Ivoire saw a major escalation of violent extremism throughout 2020, including its first jihadist attacks since the 2016 Grand Bassam incident. We all remember the Park W Pendjari abduction in Benin.
“With regard to these root causes in the prevention and the fight against terrorism, the ECOWAS Commission has made the nexus between security and development its major area of focus,” Koroma said.
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said the impact of the responses on counter-terrorism going on in various areas of operations requires terrorists to find climes where they can retreat and recuperate.
Noting that the ungoverned spaces where state presence is weak were perfect climes for terrorists, he said, “All member states affected must, therefore, put more efforts to eliminate these conditions that facilitate the activities and movements of terrorist groups.
“It is my view that only concerted regional initiatives such as this can help us to better understand the dynamics of the security challenges facing us and hopefully, we can agree on the best strategy for curbing the menace of terrorism and violent extremism.
“Without a doubt, terrorism threatens the free movement of persons, goods and services, which represents the core values of our regional integration agenda.”
