•Charges states to improve security by tackling poverty, other root causes of insecurity
•Stakeholders express commitment towards tackling challenges
Deji Elumoye in Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has called for a multifaceted response to terrorism, insurgency, and other security threats in the Lake Chad Basin region.
Tinubu said the chain of events that had disrupted the stability of the region in the past 15 years demanded that power be wielded responsibly to guarantee the safety and prosperity of the people.
The president spoke yesterday in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, when he declared open the fifth meeting of the Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum.
The theme of this year’s meeting was, “Rebuilding the Lake Chad Basin: Consolidating Gains, Commitment to Peace, Cross-Border Cooperation, Security, and Sustainable Development for a Resilient Community.”
Hosted by the Yobe State government in Maiduguri, the meeting brought together eight governors from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and the Republic of Niger.
Equally present were humanitarian organisations, as well as representatives of the local and international communities, who came together to address pressing security challenges and explore solutions for stability in the Lake Chad region.
Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, stated that while military power was necessary to contain identified security threats, it must be accompanied by strategies to address their root causes, including poverty, inequality, and lack of job opportunities for the region’s young population.
He stated, “Your Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, our response to these threats must be multifaceted. While military solutions are indispensable, they must be complemented by strategies that address the root causes of insecurity – poverty, inequality, and the lack of opportunities for our youth.
“It is a tragic irony that Africa, a continent with the youngest population in the world, sees its youth become cannon fodder for destructive ideologies and the drivers of conflict. This is the challenge before us: to transform this demographic dividend into a force for good.
“Power’s true essence lies not in its possession but in its application. Hard power may secure borders, but it is soft power – through diplomacy, culture, and shared values – that builds bridges and binds us together.”
The president said every part of the world was entangled in its own unique security challenges, resulting in the global military gulping “a historic $2.4 trillion in 2023, with no signs of slowing”.
However, he said, “Hard power, detached from the moral imperatives of justice and diplomacy, only widens the very divide it seeks to bridge.”
Tinubu told the Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum that it was only by sticking to the vision for which the forum was created that pursuing and adopting partnerships that would benefit the people could be achieved.
Such partnerships, he added, included the collective commitment to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He said the choices made “today will echo through generations, shaping the future of this region”.
Speaking on the successes recorded so far in repelling threats to the region’s borders and sovereignty by elements of terror, the president attributed past victories by member countries to the joint missions they had embarked on.
According to him, “These hard-won victories are a testament to the strength of our cooperation, as such, the guarantee of peace must remain paramount, even when domestic politics or policies seek to undermine the nobility of our agreements to serve the people.”
Tinubu cautioned the governors and other stakeholders against allowing “the geo-political tensions across the world to sow discord” in the region, and submitting “to become tools in any proxy agenda”.
He said, “The salvation of the Lake Chad region is neither in Europe nor in the Americas. It lies in the hands of all those gathered here today.
“You, distinguished representatives of this forum, embody not only our collective will to protect the region but also the transformative potential that stability brings.
“The true enemy remains the non-state actors – those who exploit weak borders, poor governance, and fragile economies to challenge our claim to civilisation.
“However, the worst threat we may face is not the insurgents or terrorists at odds with our humanity. It is the absence of cooperation, sincerity, and fidelity to our shared pact as brothers’ keepers.
“We undermine this pact when we renege on agreements to secure our borders, when misinformation and falsehoods breed mistrust, and when we jeopardise the freedom and choices of our people.”
Earlier, the host governor, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, described the forum as an opportunity for states around the Lake Chad Basin region across Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon to discuss and reflect on the journey so far since the Regional Strategy for Stabilisation, Recovery, and Resilience became operational six years ago.
Buni stated that as partners in progress, the Yobe State government provided the platform for participants to strengthen contact and collaboration towards ensuring stabilisation, recovery, and resilience across the Lake Chad Basin in the months and years ahead.
Speaking, also, Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, commended the strategic partners of the forum, saying their contributions have enabled governments of the forum to tackle some of their challenges, strengthen, and rebuild the Lake Chad region.
Zulum said the platform was a rallying point for political cohesion, fostering regional interaction, sustaining the socio-economic development of the region, and regional integration.
Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State stated that the basin had passed through the worst environmental moment, leading to the shrinking of Lake Chad.
Fintiri recalled that “the United Nations Environmental Programme has recently revealed that Lake Chad has shrunk 90 per cent in six years and blamed the situation on climate change, irrigation and construction of dams and population increase”.
In his welcome remarks, Executive Secretary of Lake Chad Basin Commission, Ambassador Mamman Nuhu, said the forum’s meeting “serves as a critical platform for fostering dialogue, enhancing collaboration, and reaffirming our collective commitment to addressing the multifaceted challenges facing the Lake Chad Basin”.
Nuhu said the theme of this year’s meeting, “Rebuilding the Lake Chad Basin…,” reflected the immense progress achieved so far and the equally immense work that needed to be done.
Development Director at the British High Commission, Nigeria, and Representative of International Support Group, Ms Cynthia Rowe, commended the governors, stressing that the region has recorded marked improvement in the face of daunting challenges.
Rowe said displaced people had returned to their homes, and hope had been restored. Though she said the challenges in the Lake Chad Basin remained poverty, complex crises, and climate change.
She pledged that the funding partners would continue in their efforts towards assisting the forum achieve its objectives.
Present at the meeting were Governor of Hadji Lamis Province in Chad and Chair of the Lake Chad Basin Governors Forum, Ildjima Abdraman; senator for Borno South, Mohammed Ali Ndume; senator for Borno Central, Kaka Shehu Lawan; President of the Ninth Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan; and members of the House of Representatives.
