Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has called for a comprehensive and multifaceted strategy, hinged on broader regional cooperation, to tackle the escalating security and humanitarian crisis in the Sahel region.
Zulum made the appeal while delivering a keynote address at the roundtable discussion of the 5th Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development held in Aswan, Egypt.
The governor whose state has been at the epicenter of Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin, argued that a purely military solution has proven insufficient. He emphasized that lasting peace can only be achieved by simultaneously addressing the root causes of the conflict.
“The crises of instability, terrorism, and displacement that plague the Sahel cannot be solved by kinetic means alone,” Governor Zulum stated. “We must look beyond the battlefield. There is an urgent need for a multifaceted approach that combines security, development, and humanitarian assistance in a synchronized manner.”
Zulum also called for broader cooperation among countries in the Sahel region. He stressed that extremist groups and other criminal networks operate across borders with impunity, and the response must be equally transnational.
“In the Sahel context, you cannot address the challenges by just looking at two or three countries. You need to look deeper into the political region of the Sahel as defined by the United Nations Strategy, which covers 10 countries, including Mauritania, Gambia, and Guinea, among others. Collaboration among the larger Sahel communities is paramount.”
Beyond security collaboration, the governor called for improved development in the Sahel countries. He identified poverty, lack of education, and climate change-induced scarcity as key drivers of recruitment for armed groups.
“For the last 15 years, we have had many interventions in Borno State, but humanitarian support is not a sustainable solution. There is a need for longer-term sustainable solutions. We received many donors, partners, and non-governmental organizations, but most of them engaged in short-term humanitarian solutions.”
“There is a need for sustainable solutions, including development. The nexus between peace, development, and security need not be overemphasized. If there is no development, there cannot be peace or security.”
The roundtable features other African leaders representing various countries, including H.E. Dr. Badr Abdelatty, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptian Expatriates; H.E. Abdoulaye Diop, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and African Integration, Republic of Mali; and H.E. Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation and Burkinabes Abroad of the Republic of Burkina Faso.