By Prosper Mene
Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General, urged African leaders to take charge of the continent’s security at the first African Chiefs of Defence Forum in Abuja. She called the event a historic step toward uniting African nations to tackle growing threats like terrorism, cyberattacks, and climate-related crises.
Mohammed, a former Nigerian minister, highlighted Africa’s serious challenges, noting it has the highest number of terrorism deaths worldwide. She said attacks in West Africa’s coastal areas have risen by 250% in two years, and 14,000 schools in the Sahel closed by 2024 due to violence, putting children’s futures at risk.
She also warned that social media is fueling division and hate, calling it a new “battleground.”She spoke about artificial intelligence (AI), which can help with things like predicting food shortages or finding landmines but warned it could harm human rights if used for critical decisions. Mohammed also linked climate change to conflict, pointing to the shrinking of Lake Chad, which has displaced over three million people.
Mohammed stressed that security, development, and human rights must work together. “Africa will not sit back,” she said. “We will take control of our security and use technology for peace.” She called for unity to protect Africa’s 1.5 billion people.The forum, attended by defense leaders from 52 of Africa’s 54 countries, was a major event. Former Guinea Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate said peace is essential for progress and suggested new ways to fund security.
Burkina Faso and Mali did not attend due to tensions with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) after forming a new alliance with Niger.Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, called for modernizing African forces with better cyber defenses and local technology. He said Africa must unite to create a safer continent and highlighted Nigeria’s efforts in peacekeeping and fighting terrorism.
The summit, running through Wednesday, aims to build a new plan for African security cooperation. The message from Abuja is clear: Africa must lead its own path to peace.
