Tinubu Supports Regional Center for Counterterrorism
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Tinubu Supports Regional Center for Counterterrorism
By Roselyn James
A regional center for counterterrorism has been proposed by President Bola Tinubu, which would act as a focal point for information exchange, coordination of operations, and capacity building across the African continent. The call was made by the President on Monday during the African High-Level Meeting on Counter-Terrorism in Abuja.
In addition to using force, he argued, Africa must address the underlying roots of the problem, poverty, inequality, and social injustice to fully confront terrorism.
As terrorism develops and finds new means to continually finance, re-equip, and re-supply itself for its dark objective, Tinubu stressed that Africa must confront the roots that feed the wicked branch, namely illegal mining and ransom.
“Precious resources are also abducted, in addition to individuals. Paying for weapons and responding to mayhem costs billions and billions of dollars, which are instead allocated to legitimate governments to build better societies by giving their citizens access to food, healthcare, and education.
Consider how many of our countries are currently plagued by illegal mining. It is a grave mistake for those to believe that financing terrorism has nothing to do with illegal mining.
Because foreign funding, not African money, is what powers these illicit operations, the world community is obligated by law and morality to support this cause. To respond to this cry for justice, peace, and fair play, we will be pounding on the doors of the global community.
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The President said, “The urgent need for a fully operational Regional Counter-Terrorism Center is key to our collective efforts against terrorism.”
But Tinubu went on to say that the continent of Africa needs to bolster its current counterterrorism institutions, like the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA) in Addis Ababa, the African Center for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT) in Algiers, and the Regional Intelligence Fusion Unit (RIFU) in Abuja.
“It must not be abandoned,” he said, highlighting the significance of a regional backup force whose duty includes combating terrorism.
“I am aware of the financial, legal, and operational challenges associated with the appropriate formation of such a force. However, such a force can act as a rapid deployment tool, able to act quickly in response to significant threats and bolster regional security, provided that it is given a wise and well-defined mandate that respects state sovereignty and is compliant with international law.
“Such a force can serve as a potent deterrent to the seizure, occupation, or disturbance of vital territory and resources, as well as to extensive and prolonged terrorist operations. To do this, we must keep moving forward with cautious but significant progress.
As stated in the Declaration of the 16th Extraordinary Summit of the African Union Assembly two years ago in May 2022, “Establishing an all-inclusive African Union Ministerial Committee on Counter-Terrorism is also a high priority.” According to him, this would guarantee that a forum comprising senior government representatives convenes regularly to evaluate our counterterrorism endeavors and offer recommendations for future enhancements.
