Nigeria demands self-reliant African security architecture

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu

Nigeria has called for a stronger, better-funded, and self-reliant African peace and security architecture to tackle growing terrorism, transnational organised crime, and emerging threats across the continent.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, made the call on Thursday at the opening of a two-day Consultative Forum on Strengthening the Functional Performance of the African Union Peace and Security Architecture in Abuja.

This was contained in a statement signed by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oluwafemi Adeniyi, made available to Saturday PUNCH on Friday.

Adeniyi stated that the minister urged African nations to take greater responsibility for addressing security challenges amid growing regional threats, pressure on multilateralism, and operational gaps in continental frameworks.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu expressed concern over the spread of terrorism across Africa, noting that armed groups were deploying new technologies while financing operations through transnational organised crime and illicit financial flows.

To strengthen the continent’s capacity to prevent and respond to conflicts, she urged African states to improve the functional effectiveness of the Continental Early Warning System, African-led mediation initiatives, and the African Peer Review Mechanism.

She also called for a stronger national peace infrastructures, enhanced intelligence-sharing among African nations, and targeted interventions to address local grievances, youth unemployment, and community resilience.

The minister stressed the importance of supporting rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for individuals affected by terrorism and violent extremism.

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“Let us encourage African countries to utilise the African Union Counter-Terrorism Centre to coordinate continental efforts against terrorist activities,” Odumegwu-Ojukwu said.

On funding, she highlighted the need to complement the African Union Peace Fund with international financial commitments, including structured support from the United Nations.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu emphasized the necessity of establishing predictable and sustainable financing for AU-led peace operations to eliminate funding deficits and bolster emergency security responses.

She further advocated the enhancement of peace support operations through the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2719, alongside the full operationalisation of the African Standby Force and regional standby brigades.

The minister expressed optimism that the forum would yield actionable recommendations to strengthen Africa’s collective capacity to prevent conflicts and sustain regional peace.

The consultative forum focuses on four strategic priority areas: mediation and preventive diplomacy, early warning and response, counter-terrorism, and peace support operations.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria expects the meeting to generate recommendations that will improve security coordination, bolster funding mechanisms, and enhance institutional capacities across the continent.