Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister expresses worry over military coups in West Africa

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has issued a warning against categorizing the unconstitutional change in government in West Africa as exclusively a regional problem. He emphasized that this issue could escalate and impact the entire African continent, exacerbating the challenges of terrorism and other cross-border criminal activities.

The Minister conveyed this caution during a panel discussion titled “Resurgence of Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa: Global Outlook, Response, and Implications for the A3” at the 10th Annual High-level Seminar on the Promotion of Peace and Security in Africa. The seminar, held in Oran, Algeria, concluded on December 18th.

Ambassador Tuggar stressed the importance of not simplifying the military takeovers in West African countries as a problem confined to the region. He urged a deeper examination of root causes, including the proliferation of arms resulting from the conflict in Libya and other contributing factors.

He stated, “In examining the root causes of UCG and proposing solutions, it is essential to consider not only endogenous factors of governance and election processes but also exogenous factors. Some may view West Africa and conclude that it must have an inherent problem, leading to such occurrences.”

Ambassador Tuggar argued that West Africa cannot be held responsible for the implosion of Libya, the failure of the EU’s Sahel Strategy, or climate change in the Sahel. He cautioned against ignoring these factors and simply attributing the situation to issues within West Africa.

He added, “The easier option is to ignore all these things or to wish them away and simply say there is something West Africa is doing wrong and try to accommodate the new military regimes. However, that would be detrimental to the entire continent because we aim to address the issue of fighting terrorism across Africa, including North Africa and other regions.”

Ambassador Tuggar emphasized that accommodating new military regimes to combat terrorism would not be a viable solution. Instead, he proposed revitalizing the African Union’s body of programs, asserting that a coordinated approach focusing on development and infrastructure would be more effective in addressing the challenges posed by terrorist groups and criminal gangs in West Africa’s complex border areas. He underscored the importance of resisting pressure from social media that may advocate for accommodating military takeovers and emphasized the need for a unified and coordinated effort to promote development and stability in Africa.