A high-level roundtable on security challenges for African countries was organized by the Brenthurst Foundation with the participation of two former African heads of state in collaboration with civil society organizations. The President of the Network of Women Leaders for Development (NWLD), Ms. Agueh Dossi Gloria, took part in the meeting to reflect on strategic solutions based on African security challenges.
Africa is facing a changing array of threats and risks that have marked the daily lives of states over the past eighteen months. Wars of national liberation have been followed by intra-state conflicts. Just as deadly, the jihadist wave of the early 21st century is progressing in a context where states are greatly weakened by the economic impact of exogenous crises and endogenous weaknesses such as poverty. Faced with this state of affairs, it is imperative that reflections be conducted so that the continent regains its nobility. This is why this meeting of former African leaders and civil society actors has the effect of promoting the establishment of a climate of trust, with the corollary of increased accountability of states and non-state actors in the management of security challenges.
To achieve this objective, a reflection on the capacities of non-state actors was conducted on the likely security challenges facing Africa in the next generation, how non-state actors could be managed in the current environment, what lessons can be learned from past cooperation, contemporary conflicts on security management and prospects for external cooperation and assistance, how insiders and outsiders both regional and further afield could better act for stability is essential.
When asked how non-state actors could be managed in the current environment, Gloria Dossi AGUEH, President of the Network of Women Leaders for Development (RFLD), pointed out that non-state actors are a significant force in crisis resolution because of their proximity to the grassroots population. According to her, non-state actors have a perfect grasp of the challenges and problems and know what strategic solutions to bring.
Voilà pourquoi << le RFLD dans ses actions accorde un intérêt particulier aux femmes et aux jeunes afin de renforcer leurs capacités sur les questions de droit, de démocratie et de participation citoyenne>> disait-elle. Pour le maintien de la paix et la sécurité, la présidente du RFLD a fait cas de ce qu’il faut garantie aux acteurs non étatiques un soutien régulier et un accompagnement sans précédent des grandes institutions internationales comme l’ONU Femme, l’Union Européenne et celle africaine.
In following through on her ideas, she proposes as other strategic solutions, that it is necessary to perpetuate capacity building for youth and women on civic engagement, citizenship, democracy and the rule of law, to accompany and support civil society in Africa through the provision of expertise from international institutions and to strengthen the financial capacity of these institutions for greater impact. Guided by a balanced approach between security priorities and the realities of the influence of external powers, it is a way to provide the continent with strategic solutions adapted to the challenges. With a trained civil society, one could act effectively to better respond to the challenges.
Present at this reflection meeting were President Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of the Republic of Nigeria and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Brenthurst Foundation, President Ernest Bai Koroma, former President of Sierra Leone and member of the Board of Directors of the Brenthurst Foundation, Ambassador Jean-Christophe Belliard, Ambassador of France to the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire.
From one communication to another, the meeting produced several proposals and perspectives to meet the security challenge in Africa.
RFLD Communication Unit
