Sahel’s crisis and the imperative of regional collaboration, By Umar Farouk Bala

More effort and investment must be directed toward international cross-border initiatives such as the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which serves as a potent means of adapting military efforts to the cross-national and ever-evolving nature of security threats in the region, ensuring the growth and development of all countries involved.

The Sahel is one of the most challenged regions in the world, facing devastating multidimensional crises like famine, drought, insecurity, and extremism. The area, spanning from Senegal to Eritrea and nestled between the Sahara Desert to the north and the African tropics to the south, has had its multifaceted challenges greatly exacerbated by the emergence of violent extremist organisations.

These organisations thrive on the decline of central government institutions in the region. Emboldened by fleeting international counterterrorism support, non-state actors have held Sahel countries hostage, quite literally, threatening the long-term viability of the Westphalian concept of statehood in the affected countries.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in its humanitarian overview of the Sahel, “as of 1st December 2024, 5.6 million people in the region were internally displaced, and 2.1 million were refugees.” The UN agency further states that almost 33 million women, children, and men in Burkina Faso, Cameroon’s Far North, Mali, Niger, northeastern Nigeria, and Chad need humanitarian assistance and protection services.

While external support in the form of donor funding has been helpful in alleviating the burden on the people of the Sahel, it will ultimately take the effort of domestic governments in the region to find a long-lasting solution and ensure peace and stability, according to Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Yusuf Tuggar.

While the persistent growth and dominance of violent non-state actors seem largely confined to countries squarely situated in the Sahel, such as Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad, neighbouring Nigeria and Cameroon have had their internal security and stability severely threatened by the influx of immigrants, weaponry, munitions, and extremist ideologies from the embattled region.

For example, the rise of Boko Haram in Nigeria’s North-East is largely attributed to activities affecting the Sahel, such as the breakdown of law, order, and state institutions, which create an environment of chaos that is ripe for bad actors to operate freely and effectively. Consequently, foreign policy officials in Sahel’s environs have acknowledged and emphasised the importance of joint and cooperative efforts to address the numerous challenges bedevilling the West African region.

One such official is Tuggar, who has noted that instability in the Sahel exacerbates insecurity in Nigeria — a country that borders various Sahelian nations, such as Niger, Mali, and Chad, which are hotspots for violent extremism. Nigeria’s top diplomat further stated that the unconstitutional changes of government in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso — brought about by military coups that ousted democratically elected governments — further complicate efforts geared towards cooperative security initiatives.

Stakeholders and international affairs commentators often argue that Nigeria need not meddle in, nor concern itself with, the internal affairs of other nations, citing international law and norms as the basis for this assertion. This argument has fuelled undue criticism of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s foreign policy towards the suspended ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) member states.

It should be recalled that sanctions were placed on Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso in 2023 by the Nigeria-led ECOWAS, with conditions for lifting the said sanctions being a clear timetable for a return to constitutional government by the junta-led countries. Despite this being a collective and unanimous decision taken by ECOWAS leaders, it was widely implied that this was President Tinubu’s prerogative to achieve a certain agenda.

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Meanwhile, Tuggar has succinctly debunked these claims in several ways. First, Nigeria’s constitution extols guidelines by which the nation’s foreign policy is to be conceptualised and actualised by every administration. According to him,

“Nigeria’s five foreign policy objectives include the promotion and protection of the national interest, African integration and support for African unity, promotion of international cooperation for peace and mutual respect, respect of international law and treaty obligations, and the promotion of a just world economic order.” Seen from this perspective, Nigeria’s foreign policy and its aims can be easily understood in tandem with its diplomatic stance towards other countries.

Nigeria’s national interest remains its preeminent foreign policy objective, which includes maintaining internal and external security and stability. The activities of various armed groups and militias, north of Nigeria’s borders, have egregiously impacted the humanitarian conditions of Nigeria’s citizens, particularly in the North-East, where extremist groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP (Islamic State – West Africa Province) have established strongholds and severely disrupted the central government’s ability to maintain law and order.

A significant portion of these groups’ support — financially, ideologically, and militarily — is largely sourced from more powerful organisations in the Sahel seeking to extend their influence. The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria unequivocally demands international cooperation between Nigeria and its allies to achieve peace and security.

This task has become exponentially difficult since the ousting of constitutional governments in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Despite this hindrance, Tuggar has “engaged diplomatically without pause, proposing personal visits and inviting senior government officials and representatives.”

Unfortunately, the response by the junta-led countries has not indicated any interest in future collaboration to ensure peace and security throughout the region. Nonetheless, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed its commitment to continued diplomatic relations with Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso.

Furthermore, detractors also point to ECOWAS’s hardline stance towards the three suspended member states as proof of clandestine objectives by ECOWAS leaders. It should be recalled that membership — and by extension, treaties, protocols, and responsibilities — has always been voluntary for prospective member states.

All current members of ECOWAS are signatories to certain charters and treaties that oblige them to meet laid-out requirements. The current debacle stems from the military leaders’ reluctance to abide by previously signed treaties prohibiting unconstitutional changes of government to ensure a healthy political climate in the region.

Despite this codified statute, the Tinubu administration has spearheaded the extension of a prolonged grace period, after which the junta-led regimes must return to constitutional government. Unfortunately, the reaction to this olive branch included agenda-laden accusations by Niger’s military leader, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, alleging Nigeria’s involvement in an international conspiracy with France to destabilise his country.

Nigeria has no logical incentive to destabilise Niger Republic or any of its neighbours, as this would result in further irregular migration toward Nigeria’s border towns, severely impacting an already devastating humanitarian crisis. Historically, Nigeria has done the opposite of what it is being accused of.

It has always been the front-runner in financial, technical, infrastructural, and military support for the West African region. Nigeria has consistently committed to promoting the interests and development of Africa, particularly West Africa, in line with its constitutionally embedded foreign policy principles.

This commitment includes advocating for Africa’s representation as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, leading efforts to establish an ECOWAS standby force to achieve sustainable peace and security, mobilising troops for peacekeeping operations in Guinea Bissau and The Gambia, and supporting the establishment of a logistics base in Lungi, Senegal, among other efforts.

Security in the Sahel, one of the world’s most dynamic regions, requires concerted effort by all concerned countries. Alienating and castigating the hegemon power in the region will certainly not help achieve this. The junta-led states must set political agendas aside in favour of shared historical, present, and future interests of peace, security, and stability.

More effort and investment must be directed toward international cross-border initiatives such as the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which serves as a potent means of adapting military efforts to the cross-national and ever-evolving nature of security threats in the region, ensuring the growth and development of all countries involved.

Umar Farouk Bala is a graduate of Political Science and International Relations from Nile University of Nigeria. He is a PRNigeria Fellow, umarfaroukofficial@gmail.com