Nigeria Govt Calls for Stronger African-led Peace and Security Architecture
Nigeria has called for a stronger, better-funded and self-reliant African peace and security architecture, warning that the continent must urgently bridge the gap between early warning and early action.
Speaking at the opening of the Consultative Forum on Strengthening the Functional Performance of the African Union Peace and Security Architecture in Abuja, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu said Africa must take greater responsibility for addressing its security challenges.
“With the international order eroding, we must look inward for a more resilient, better-resourced and self-reliant architecture, anchored on African leadership,” she said.
According to a statement by the Minister’s media aide, Dr. Magnus Eze, she lamented that terrorism was spreading across the Sahel, West Africa, the Lake Chad Basin, the Horn of Africa, the Great Lakes and northern Mozambique, with armed groups increasingly using drones, illicit financial networks and links to organised crime.
“Our early warning is sound, but early action is slow. Our operations are boldly conceived, but their financing is uncertain. Our norms are clear, but their application has been inconsistent,” she said.
Nigeria called for stronger continental early-warning mechanisms, faster deployment of African mediators and clearer coordination among the African Union, Regional Economic Communities, Regional Mechanisms and the United Nations.
On counter-terrorism, Ambassador Odumegwu-Ojukwu urged greater attention to local grievances, youth unemployment and community resilience, alongside stronger intelligence-sharing.
She said: “Weak oversight and loosely defined counter-terrorism laws erode public trust and can fuel recruitment, which is why Nigeria supports rehabilitation and reintegration.”
She also urged African states to reduce reliance on external security actors, including private military and security companies, warning that such dependence could undermine sovereignty.
On peace support operations, Nigeria called for urgent implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2719 on financing AU-led missions and for the operationalisation of the African Standby Force.
“Over-reliance on external funding delays the payment of troop entitlements, weakens morale and makes mission planning uncertain,” the Minister said.
The two-day Abuja forum is focusing on four priorities: mediation and preventive diplomacy; early warning and response; counter-terrorism; and peace support operations.
Nigeria said it expects the meeting to produce practical recommendations that strengthen coordination, financing and the capacity of African institutions to prevent and respond to conflicts.
“Strengthening performance requires closing the gap between early warning and early action, applying continental norms consistently, securing predictable financing and pairing military responses with governance-led prevention,” Ambassador Odumegwu-Ojukwu said.