Nigeria Seeks Japan and Others’ Cooperation in Tackling Security Challenges in Africa
Oru Leonard
In a heartfelt plea, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, addressed the Ministerial Meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Tokyo, Japan. He highlighted the devastating impact of security threats on Africa’s development, citing terrorism and transnational organized crimes as major concerns.
The Minister painted a dire picture of a continent plagued by complex threats, which are destabilizing peace and security, undermining democracy and good governance, and deterring foreign investors. However, he remained optimistic, emphasizing Africa’s determination to tackle these challenges through the TICAD’s multidimensional approaches.
Ambassador Tuggar called for cooperation from Japan and other international partners to address the root causes of these security challenges. He emphasized the need for collective action to ensure Africa’s peace, stability, and prosperity.
The TICAD meeting provided a platform for Africa and its partners to discuss strategies for overcoming these challenges. With a united front, Africa and the international community can work together to create a brighter future for the continent.
Amb. Tuggar also drew attention to the activities of cryptocurrency pirates undermining macroeconomic reforms on the continent by attacking local currencies. He posited these exogenous factors are responsible for the Unconstitutional Change of Governments (UCGs) being witnessed on the continent. Furthermore, he noted that these security challenges could be the reason for the perceived decline in Japanese investment in Africa. He, however, encouraged Japan not to shy away, but to work with African leaders and other African development partners towards tackling the challenges. He equally emphasised that multidimensional support from Japan and other partners is required to actualise the global desire for a developed Africa and called for increased support in addressing the security concerns in the Lake Chad region, the Great Lakes, and the Sahel regions, as well as Sudan, Somalia, and other parts of Africa currently facing security challenges.
The Minister also proposed that the TICAD 9 Summit should focus on providing strategic infrastructure, foreign direct investments, capacity building, and the transfer of technology to support the growth of indigenous entrepreneurship, and innovation as well as engage in the progressive empowerment of women and youths in Africa.
In conclusion, Amb. Tuggar called on Japan to join Africa in pushing for the reform of the United Nations Security Council in support of Africa’s quest for fair and equitable representation in the Security Council, which he said is ethically just and temporally restitutive. He said that Africa deserves two seats in the permanent and non–permanent categories, as encapsulated in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration.
