President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says there is the need for a coordinated security intelligence sharing by member States of the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, amid the emerging security threats.
“No single country can address these challenges alone,” he advised, urging the comity of nations to resolve to tackle the rising violent extremism, cybercrime, terrorism, trans-regional crime and insecurity head-on.
Each of those threats posed a significant danger to the wellbeing of the people, the President noted in an opening address at the 2024 International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEC 2024), being hosted in Accra, Ghana’s capital.
The assembly of the Chiefs of Army from African and non-African nations positions IDEC 2024 as the foremost gathering of land forces, national security agencies and key solution providers in Africa.
Under the carefully selected theme, “Enhancing Regional Mechanisms for Addressing Contemporary Security Challenges in Africa”, the Conference aims at creating a platform for fruitful exchanges and discussions on security issues.
A critical issue up for discussion relates to fostering collaborations to improve land forces operations and curtail the ripple effects of asymmetrical threats on national security stemming from terrorism and military coups in neighbouring States.
The two-day Conference is also showcasing state-of-the-art technologies and solutions tailored at improving military operations of African Land Forces to better equip them in the fight against emerging global security and economic threats.
The event is expected to enhance unity of purpose among the Chiefs of Army as the West African regional bloc seeks to constitute a Standby Force to stem the tide of security threats rolling across the region.
The army hierarchy of the regional bloc recently proposed a 5,000-strong Standby Force to combat the region’s security crises at an annual cost of US$2.6 billion.
However, some security analysts and observers have expressed doubts about the plan’s feasibility due to funding challenges and division within the 15-nation ECOWAS bloc, especially from coup-hit countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
These countries exited the bloc after it placed now-lifted economic sanctions on them in an attempt to force a return to democracy.
President Akufo-Addo said the exit of the three countries had reduced the unified strength of the Accra Initiative – a mechanism for intergovernmental security cooperation and collaboration based on three pillars.
These encompass information and intelligence sharing, training of security and intelligence personnel, and the conduct of joint cross-border military operations.
“What we need now is the commitment to work together,” the President noted, and asked the member ECOWAS States to demonstrate political will in addressing security challenges in the region.
He said it was imperative that the bloc invested in capacity-building and resource development to better put its security apparatus in readiness to deal with the emerging complexities of crime.
“Cyber security and education should be a priority,” he advocated, noting that the advancement in technology presented the Community with the opportunity to use state-of-the-art machinery for effective operations.
Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, Minister of National Security, in a message delivered on his behalf, said the Conference was timely given the security threats to countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
