Partnership of donors and recipients: EU-Africa resets, By Owei Lakemfa

As  the Brussels Forum approaches, the question remains: For how long would African countries remain recipients of EU’s generosity, especially when ‘there is no free lunch anywhere, not even in Freetown.’

In a tumbling world with shifty and shifting alliances, the European Union (EU) met with its Nigerian and West African partners on Wednesday for a possible reset.

The twin meetings at the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Abuja, held under the shadows of France and United States’ lose of military bases in the region to Russia, and claims that the two-some are in search of new bases. There are also other challenging developments, such as a spike in coups; Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso exiting the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); and supposed democracies like Togo, subverting the democratic system.

The theme was about “Reducing vulnerabilities through partnerships.” A session was a stakeholders’ engagement on “Nigeria’s defence and security perspectives” and the second, on “Regional  defence and security perspectives.”

These meetings are coming on the back of a High-Level African Counter Terrorism Meeting in Abuja a few weeks ago and on-going “Strategic Dialogue” between the EU and the Tinubu administration.

Ambassador Samuela Isopi, the Italian diplomat who is Head of the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, told the 15 May meeting in Abuja that, “We live in a single security theatre. What happens in one region of the world directly affects another… Crises or conflicts that emerge  locally can quickly  become global, with more far-reaching consequences than ever before.”

Ms Isopi, who has had diplomatic experiences in Russia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, posited that: “Threats are transnational, more complex and diverse, but the nature of the threats we face is increasingly similar. Hybrid, cyber and information manipulation are now the norm everywhere.”

Major General Adamu Luka, national coordinator of the Nigerian National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC)  lamented that while West Africa, with diamond in Sierra Leone, gold in Ghana and oil in Nigeria, is a rich region, its people are very poor with 70 per cent  of them below the poverty line. He said democracy demands certain expressions, such as good governance and children at school. He added that while it is true that Africa has a huge youth population, the large number of out-school-children constitute a future problem. General Laka added sarcastically: “They say two heads are better than one, but two empty heads, are not.” He said there are talks about resilience but wondered if it is possible to be resilient on an empty stomach.

Dr Cyriaque Pawomothom Agnekethom, ECOWAS’ director of Peacekeeping  and Regional Security, in commenting about the three countries exiting ECOWAS, said the security treat we are facing is transnational, hence no single country can succeed in fighting them alone.

He traced the worsening security challenges, such as those in Mali, to the overthrow of President Muamar Ghadaffi in Libya. And, asked rhetorically how the EU is assisting  in the fight against corruption and for good governance, adding that such challenges are recipes for terrorism.

Ambassador Pieter Leenknght, whose country, Belgium, holds the rotating EU Presidency, was more focused on misinformation, disinformation and the power of the press. He said the press can make threats look much bigger than they actually are, as  such some attention should be focused on these.

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Ambassador Kalilou Traore of Cote d’Voire presented what he called the worst and best case scenarios. In the first, he said the coup epidemic continues, with Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic finalising their withdrawal from ECOWAS, while some other countries are joining them, and terrorism continues, alongside the collapse of ECOWAS. In the best case scenario: coups are stopping, democratic elections are getting strengthened and ECOWAS is also strengthening. The meeting, he said, provides an opportunity to examine why things have not worked out well in the continent, and how the situation can be changed. The 68-year old diplomat advocated for the stabilisation of ECOWAS, and the polity in member countries. He added that although democracy is a process, the costs, including elections which sometimes take lives, is too high and should be checked.

Dr Cyriaque Pawomothom Agnekethom, ECOWAS’ director of Peacekeeping  and Regional Security, in commenting about the three countries exiting ECOWAS, said the security treat we are facing is transnational, hence no single country can succeed in fighting them alone. So, ECOWAS should continue to play the central role, as it is best suited to check the threats. He said those who partner with the region should favour regional leadership. Such leadership, he counselled, should be locally owned, so that it does not appear as being teleguided.

Colonel Ademola Lawal of the Savanah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD) made an interjection to which there was no coherent response. In noting the issue of military coups in the region, he asked, what about civilian coups? He described such coups as those executed by the civilian leadership of some countries, which apart from capturing executive power, also exercise legislative and judicial powers and perpetuate themselves in office.

Dr Paul Andrew Gwaza of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution argued that the trigger of insecurity are local, so there is need to localise initiatives to counter them, alongside ECOWAS. He said it is imperative to  return to  the vision of the ECOWAS of the people, with focus on economic empowerment.

Ambassador  Abdel-Fatau Musah, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, submitted that: “It is not just ECOWAS, but the world that lacks leadership.” He said the body’s vision to move from the ECOWAS of States to the ECOWAS  of the People, has gotten stuck in “the ECOWAS of States.”

The leadership problem in member states, from his perspective, is not ECOWAS as an institution, but the people. He cited the cases of Burkina Faso and The Gambia, where the people rose to change their circumstances.

He said ECOWS wanted to institutionalise two terms in office for the Heads of State in the region, but some wanted more dialogue, so the dialogue is on-going. He added: “You are as strong as your weakest link.”

The leadership problem in member states, from his perspective, is not ECOWAS as an institution, but the people. He cited the cases of Burkina Faso and The Gambia, where the people rose to change their circumstances. In response to ECOWAS’ silence on Togo, where President Faure Gnassingbe is changing the constitution and seeking to turn the country into a so-called parliamentary system that would ensure his perpetuation in power, Musah asked rhetorically: “You talk about Togo, where are the forces in Togo?”

He regretted  that apart from the big powers, “medium forces,” especially from the Middle East, are beginning to interfere in Africa.

Mr Paul Ejime, a former war correspondent disagreed with Mr Musah on the subversion of the constitutional process in a place such as Togo, saying nothing stops ECOWAS from taking a position in such a case.

Ambassador Juan Ignacio Sell of  Spain, in giving a summary of the twin meetings, said the EU wants to get things right and is ready to review its past work. The meetings, he said, feed into the Schuman Security and Defence Forum of the EU and over sixty partner countries, scheduled to hold from 28-29 May in Brussels.

As  the Brussels Forum approaches, the question remains: For how long would African countries remain recipients of EU’s generosity, especially when ‘there is no free lunch anywhere, not even in Freetown.’

Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of African workers, is a human rights activist, journalist and author.