Desirous to combat terrorism in Africa, President Bola Tinubu has called for the establishment of a Regional Counter-Terrorism Centre that will serve as a hub for intelligence sharing, operational coordination, and capacity building throughout the continent. The President also recommended comprehensive approach to ending the scourge, including addressing its root causes. He further stressed the importance of closing the financial lifelines that fuel terrorist activities, such as ransom payments and illegal mining operations.
According to him, “billions upon billions of dollars that legitimate governments should be using to sculpt better societies by providing education, healthcare, and food for its people now go to pay for weapons and response to mayhem.”
Apart from the Regional Counter-Terrorism Centre, Tinubu harped on the need to strengthen the existing counter-terrorism structures, such as the Regional Intelligence Fusion Unit (RIFU) in Abuja, the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT) in Algiers, and the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA) in Addis Ababa. A regional standby force that includes tackling terrorism as part of its mandate was also suggested.
This is not the first time Tinubu is calling for a collective approach to tackle insecurity on the continent. He had in a recent outing charged the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) to devise innovative strategies to halt the proliferation of arms and light weapons in Africa. He called for synergy and unity of action among member states of the AU and UN in tackling proliferation of arms and light weapons that has led to conflict, insurgency, violence, loss of lives, and increased crimes in Africa.
These are good measures that if implemented, will go a long way in freeing the continent from the menace of terrorism, insurgency, banditry and other violent crimes. There is no doubt that terrorism is undermining peace and development in many African countries. In its quarterly Africa Terrorism Report for Q1 2023, the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism revealed that Da’esh, Al-Qaeda, and their affiliates had intensified their attacks across the continent by exploiting instability and conflict emanating from local grievances.
The report added that in the first three quarters of 2023, Africa recorded 2,122 terrorist attacks, resulting in over 12,000 fatalities, predominantly civilians.
The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, operate in the Sahel; the Islamic State West Africa Province is active in the Lake Chad Basin; while Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin has progressively extended its reach towards the Gulf of Guinea.
In Nigeria, Boko Haram has been a major threat to peace and communal existence, especially in the North-East region. Former military head of state, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, recently categorised the group as perhaps the major threat to the peace and development of Nigeria since the Nigerian civil war. The sect embarked on its murderous mission in 2009.
In 2021, a United Nations Develop Programme (UNDP) finding had indicated that insurgency-related conflicts claimed the lives of almost 350,000 lives in the North-eastern part of Nigeria up till the end 2020. The figure must have been conservative given that some of the activities of the amorphous groups involved in the dastardly adventures were hardly documented. More deaths and displacements might have been recorded subsequently. Families have been dislodged and farmers prevented from visiting their farms due to fear of attacks.
El-Shabab is causing similar problems in Somalia and neighbouring countries. Therefore, Tinubu’s recommendation is in order. Since some African countries have porous borders, the terrorists move easily and cause havoc.
No one state can solve the problem for itself. It requires collective approach to tackle the menace. We believe that the envisaged regional Counter-Terrorism Centre will go a long way in curbing terrorism in Africa.
Apart from the regional centre, there is urgent need to deal with the drivers of terrorism and extremism, such as poverty, hunger, unemployment, marginalization, and social injustice. The fight against terrorism requires a comprehensive approach.
A 2024 report by Statista, a statistic portal, classified poverty as a widespread issue across Africa. According to the report, about 429 million people on the continent were living below the extreme poverty line. Therefore, it is expected that the growing poverty will make the continent a fertile ground for recruitment of new members by terrorist organisations. Let African leaders embrace the culture of good governance, which is presently lacking in most African countries.