Executive Director of West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), Dr Chukwuemeka Eze, has described as “ripe” the factors influencing insurgencies in West Africa.
Dr Eze revealed that the security architecture that West African countries are currently operating does not fit the current security challenges. He noted that policing in respective countries within the ECOWAS sub-region to curb insurgencies has nothing to do with the number of officers as some member states believe. This, he explained, is because “crime has moved ahead” and it is in some instances, what one may consider to be “analogue security architecture versus digital crimes”. Owing to this, Dr Eze remarked that crime is ahead of security interventions in West Africa.
“I think that a lot of the key push factors to insurgencies are ripe within West Africa region. So, there is high level of unemployment, there are issues relating to arms proliferation [and] there are issues relating to narco trade. In the past, West Africa used to be a transit point but we have also now become consumers of this narco and other illicit drugs. Because the environment is ripe for it, then the recruitment process is very easy and that is why we continue to see that.”
Dr Chukwuemeka Eze
Elaborating on the reasons for these insurgencies, the WANEP Executive Director expressed that the first thing to consider is the level of political way that member states respond to some of these systemic and structural issues. He noted that these structures have been very weak and as such, “hard-core security alone cannot resolve 21st century security” challenges which include insurgencies. Dr Eze intimated that due to these challenges, the “political will” to investment in citizens’ welfare is still very low.
“The second thing of course is the level of equipment. In this regard, I mean good material and monitoring equipment that we are investing in our security architecture. So, if you look at the way and manner our police or army manages to intervene on some of these security challenges, you would rather think they are magicians because in most instances, even the insurgents have better equipped materials as well as information system management than the security operative. We cannot be talking about number in terms of policing; we should be talking about equipment and method of policing.”
Dr Chukwuemeka Eze
Call for action to curb insurgencies
On May 5, 2022, Deputy Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Minister, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong lamented the rising insurgency in West Africa. He stated that the occurrence of coups which hinder peace, stability and economic development of the sub-region must be tackled head-on.
To address the problem, he urged stakeholders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to map out strategies targeted at finding solutions to the coups.
“… We hope to explore issues related to conflict development, the recent upsurge of coup d’états and its impact on the sub-region, as well as the role ECOWAS plays in conflict management, reconstruction and peacebuilding in West Africa. Being fully aware that economic development cannot be achieved in the absence of peace and stability, conflict in our backyard should concern us and motivate us not only to find solutions but also, to prevent its spread.”
Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong
Mr Ampratwum-Sarpong expressed worry over the fact that leaders of some ECOWAS member states have created artificial barriers, thus curtailing the success of the regional integration objective.
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