Nigeria seeks stronger Sahel, Lake Chad ties

Nigeria is urging for enhanced political, economic, and security cooperation with nations in the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin. The call comes as Nigeria proposes a development compact designed to tackle the region's intertwined security and development issues.

Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, Nigeria's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, made the appeal during a high-level retreat in Maiduguri, Borno State. The two-day event gathered Nigerian ambassadors and diplomatic representatives from the Sahel region, alongside regional institutions, security agencies, and development partners.

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What happens in Niamey affects Maiduguri. What happens in N'Djamena influences Borno. Developments in Bamako, Ouagadougou, Nouakchott and Yaoundé have direct implications for Nigeria’s national security, economic wellbeing and regional diplomacy.

Enikanolaiye emphasized that events in neighboring countries directly impact Nigeria's national security, economy, and diplomatic standing. He stated that developments in places like Niamey, N'Djamena, Bamako, and Ouagadougou have significant implications for Nigeria. The minister stressed that economic cooperation, trade, and stability in the region are vital for Nigeria's national interest.

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Countries that trade with one another do not fight one another.

The retreat, themed "Strengthening Nigeria’s Engagement with the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin Countries: Towards Peace, Security and Sustainable Regional Development," aims to foster practical strategies for addressing shared challenges. Key issues identified include terrorism, organized crime, irregular migration, climate change, and geopolitical competition, all of which transcend national borders and necessitate coordinated responses.

Nigeria also seeks to mend political and diplomatic ties with the Alliance of Sahelian States, comprising Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. The minister highlighted that countries with strong trade relationships are less likely to engage in conflict, underscoring the importance of closer economic partnerships.

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This also requires that we mend fences with the Alliance of Sahelian States (AES) of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger at the political and diplomatic levels.