Nigeria Advocates for Stronger Sahel and Lake Chad Ties

Nigeria has initiated a call for stronger political, economic, and security engagement with countries in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin. This announcement was made by Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, during a two-day high-level retreat held in Maiduguri, Borno State.

The retreat, themed “Strengthening Nigeria’s Engagement with the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin Countries: Towards Peace, Security and Sustainable Regional Development,” included Nigerian ambassadors and diplomatic representatives from the Sahel, regional institutions, security agencies, and development partners. Enikanolaiye described Maiduguri as a symbol of resilience and recovery, highlighting the direct implications of developments in neighboring countries on Nigeria’s national security and economy.

He identified terrorism, transnational crime, and climate change as major regional challenges requiring collective responses. Enikanolaiye proposed a Sahel Development Compact aimed at shifting the focus from crisis management to sustainable development, emphasizing the importance of economic cooperation and trade among the nations in the region.