Nigeria has called for stronger political, economic, and security engagement with countries in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, while proposing a development compact to address the region’s security and development challenges.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, made the call on Saturday in Maiduguri, Borno State, at a two-day high-level retreat of Nigerian ambassadors and Sahel and Lake Chad diplomatic representatives.
The retreat, themed “Strengthening Nigeria’s Engagement with the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin Countries: Towards Peace, Security and Sustainable Regional Development,” brings together Nigerian ambassadors, diplomatic representatives from the Sahel, regional institutions, security agencies, development partners and other stakeholders.
Enikanolaiye said the choice of Maiduguri for the retreat was “deliberate, strategic and deeply symbolic,” describing the city as a testimony to resilience, recovery and renewed hope.
He said the retreat would enable participants to examine Nigeria’s relations with the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin and develop practical strategies for addressing shared challenges.
According to him, developments in neighbouring countries have direct implications for Nigeria’s national security, economy and diplomacy.
“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,” he said.
The minister said Nigeria regarded economic cooperation, trade, commerce, peace and stability in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin as indispensable components of its national interest.
He argued that stronger commercial ties, industrial value addition, agriculture and food security could provide a foundation for regional peace and development.
“Countries that trade with one another do not fight one another,” Enikanolaiye said.
Stressing the need for closer economic partnerships among countries in the region.
He identified terrorism and violent extremism, transnational organised crime, irregular migration, climate change, environmental degradation, humanitarian crises and growing geopolitical competition as major challenges confronting the Sahel.
The minister said the challenges transcended national boundaries and required collective and coordinated responses, with diplomacy playing a central role.
He specifically called for renewed political and diplomatic engagement with the Alliance of Sahelian States comprising Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
“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,” he said.
Enikanolaiye also announced that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had proposed the development of a Sahel Development Compact, designed to shift the regional narrative from crisis management to sustainable development.
He said the proposed framework would focus on infrastructure, agriculture, trade, transport connectivity, energy, education, climate resilience, water resource management, humanitarian response and human capital development.
The minister stressed that sustainable peace could not be achieved through military action alone, but must be supported by inclusive economic growth, social justice and opportunities for young people.
He also called for renewed efforts to restore the Lake Chad, saying the initiative was critical to the security, environment and livelihoods of communities across the region.
“Recharging the waters of Lake Chad is critical to the security, environment and livelihoods of our people as recently underscored by the 5th Lake Chad Governors’ Forum,” he said.
Enikanolaiye said stakeholders “must move beyond debates over feasibility and environmental impact assessments and take concrete steps towards raising the estimated $50bn required to implement the project”.
He further called for renewed commitment to the Multinational Joint Task Force to strengthen regional efforts against persistent security threats.
The minister said the retreat was expected to produce the Maiduguri Roadmap for Nigeria’s Continued Engagement with the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin Countries, covering political dialogue, security cooperation, economic integration, humanitarian collaboration and people-to-people engagement.
He said the roadmap should also provide for regular high-level bilateral visits, periodic political consultations, Joint Commission meetings and sectoral working groups to ensure implementation of the retreat’s resolutions.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the retreat provided an opportunity to review Nigeria’s engagement with the Sahel and Lake Chad regions through constructive dialogue, mutual respect and practical cooperation.
The Permanent Secretary said the region’s security and development challenges, alongside evolving geopolitical realities and the emergence of the AES, required renewed diplomatic engagement and innovative approaches to regional cooperation.
The Permanent Secretary said participants would examine practical strategies for advancing the proposed Sahel Development Compact, particularly in regional peace and security, intelligence cooperation, trade facilitation, infrastructure, transport connectivity, agriculture, food security, climate resilience, humanitarian response, youth empowerment and diplomatic engagement.
He expressed hope that the retreat would culminate in a strategic roadmap for enhanced regional collaboration and reaffirm Nigeria’s commitment to a peaceful, secure and prosperous neighbourhood.
