Military, Government Experts Brainstorm To Equip ECOWAS Standby Force

By Bukar BOLORI

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is at the last lap of equipping the ECOWAS Standby Force saddled with the duty of combating terrorism, banditry, violent extremism and political instability in the West African subregion with the gathering of military and government experts in Abuja to validate the Logistics Depot policies of the economic bloc.

The meeting is coming ahead of the commissioning of the recently completed ECOWAS Logistics Depot in Lungi, Sierra Leone.

Speaking at the opening of the validation exercise, the Commission’s Commissioner, Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah said the increased acts of terrorism, violent extremism and political instability within the region has necessitated the urgent need for fully functional and operational static depot.

Musah, who was represented by Dr. Sanni Mohammed, Acting Head of Peace Support Operations in ECOWAS, said that the project remains a critical one for peace support operations, explaining that the depot is expected to warehouse all the equipment that are supposed to be deployed for operations .

He said: “The ECOWAS Commission has injected substantial resources towards the construction as well as the operationalisation of the depot, and it remains a critical flagship project for ECOWAS region’s peace support operations infrastructure.

“The increased act of terrorism, violent extremism, and political instability being experienced in a number of our countries, with heavy and dire consequences, are a clear testament to the urgent need for a well-resourced logistics strategy with a fully functional and operational and static depot.”

He said it took the Commisson this long to put in place the Depot “not because of reluctance on the part of management, but because of the need to mobilise the required resources that will enable the Commission to actually put in place a depot that will be, you know, consistent with not only continental but also global best practises. So the depot we are happy is in place now in Lungi, Sierra Leone.

“It’s a coastal depot, so anywhere, from anywhere we are shipping equipment to the depot either by land, air, or sea, we’ll be able to comfortably evacuate them and put them in the depot in Lungi, Sierra Leone. Well, the ECOWAS standby force is already fully activated. It’s in place.

“Like we have two missions that are currently running in Guinea-Bissau as well as the Gambia. The missions are there, and the troops from the standby force are the ones there. The activation of the ECOWAS standby force to fight terrorism is actually what we are now currently planning to do.

“We need to have the required resources. Already member states have given us the troops that will populate the contingent that will move in activation of the standby force in its kinetic form. So we are up and doing to be able to deliver on that task.

“Well, currently there are a number, multiple processes we need to engage. Firstly, with our various governments to be able to mobilise the resources. We want to see that resources are mobilised internally.

“This is a fight that you need to have internal resources to allow you comfortably confront the challenges. Instead of relying on external funding that will not be always sustainable.”

He noted that the standby force and the peacekeeping, is a comprehensive depot that will enable ECOWAS to put in place equipment for deployments. Either during peace support operations or also during fighting. If you are fighting terrorism.

“So it’s a comprehensive depot, which is multidimensional in nature. And it’s going to house all the necessary needs that will be required. When deploying, either you want to address internal crisis in member states or you want to fight these terrorist activities,” he explained.

He added: “Well, the ECOWAS standby force is a standby arrangement where countries in the ECOWAS region contribute their capabilities and capacities to meet challenges, security challenges in the region. Challenges could vary from one form to the other. Whichever one that is prevalent now, we are trained to come together and bring our capacities to respond to it.

“Whichever one it may be, but we must be well trained and equipped with the kind of task, the kind of task that we are not well equipped for. And that’s why this workshop or meeting is to bring all our capabilities for logistics so that we can support operations in the region, be it in peacetime or non-peacetimes, in terms of emergencies, humanitarian situations and other emergencies in the region.”

The Meeting Chairman, Air Commodore, Sampson Eyekosi, said ECOWAS standby force is not taking the role of the Multinational Joint Taskforce (MNJTF), insisting that security is a connected thing.

He said: “You cannot work in isolation. It’s not taking any role. We all work together for the attainment of peace and security in the region.”

On the number of personnel to deployed as standby force, Eyekosi said the number would be determined by the threat, stating that: “It is not fixed. The threat determines how big the force will be. But units in member states are placed on alert based on what is pledged to the collective effort. And they are trained together, they are prepared, they are deployed as the situation requires.”

He added that: “As we all know, it is imperative that the conduct of Peace Support Operations (PSO) in the ECOWAS region requires to be properly guided by a well thought out and proven logistics procedures and processes.

“Likewise, the need to look closely at the nitty-gritty of all essential that is required to be in place to ensure that the ECOWAS Logistic Depot (ELD) at Lungi, Sierra Leone become functional and attains full operational capability in the shortest possible time.

“In order to properly structure and organise it up to fully and effectively support on-going and future peace missions in the region. Especially as the ELD is now at the verge of being commissioned this year, with over ninety percent of expected infrastructural work already completed on the facility.

“Furthermore, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, our beloved region calls us now to duty and have deliberately brought together, the brightest professional logistics, administrative and management minds here to brainstorm and produce a final product that will indeed stand the test of time in the real world. This unique opportunity therefore, requires that we all bring to bear our wealth of experience in various aspects or gamut of logistics, administration and management to give back for the interest of our region. Particularly, as it relates to Peace Support Operations in West Africa and Africa as a whole.”