Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, has warned that the country’s internal security problems are deeply connected to the broader instability affecting West Africa and the Sahel.
Speaking during an ECOWAS ministerial briefing in Abuja, Tuggar noted that crises in neighboring countries—such as the recent attempted coup in the Benin Republic—have direct consequences for Nigeria’s security landscape.
He stressed that Nigeria has a vested interest in responding to threats against democratic stability in the region, as the resulting ripple effects inevitably impact the country.
> “Nigeria’s internal problems are inextricably linked to external problems,” he said. “We would not be doing ourselves any good if the Republic of Benin has a problem and we don’t help tackle it decisively.”
The Minister explained that Nigeria’s security challenges reflect the wider turmoil spreading across the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin. He identified cross-border terrorism, armed conflict, and the flow of weapons and fighters through porous borders as major contributors, asserting that many of Nigeria’s security drivers are “mostly exogenous.”
Tuggar traced the surge in terrorism and arms proliferation to the 2011 collapse of Libya following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. He further linked Nigeria’s present challenges to ongoing conflicts in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
He also urged against framing Nigeria’s internal conflicts solely along ethnic or religious lines. Tuggar argued that the same conflict dynamics operating in the Sahel and Lake Chad region are simply shifting geographically within Nigeria.
> “When conflict occurs in Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, or Kebbi and then moves down to Benue, it is suddenly labeled a religious conflict. It is not. The conflict in Benue is the same one happening in Katsina and across the Sahel and the Lake Chad region.”
The Minister added that the situation worsened after Niger’s change of government, which led the country to withdraw from the Multinational Joint Task Force—a coalition previously effective against Boko Haram.
Tuggar stressed that Nigeria cannot afford to ignore instability in the Benin Republic, one of its closest and most strategic western neighbors. Given existing insecurity to the north and northeast, he questioned why Nigeria would remain passive in the face of emerging threats to its west.
In his concluding remarks, Tuggar highlighted Nigeria’s longstanding leadership in promoting regional stability. He warned that delayed interventions in regional crises often have serious consequences.
He reaffirmed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to strengthening democratic governance through the newly established Regional Partnership for Democracy, advocating for a uniquely African model of democracy that aligns with local realities.
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