Lieutenant General Dr Abdul Rahman Danbazau (Rtd), the Nigerian Minister of the Interior, has called on African leaders to collectively help to combat terror threats and attacks.
He said the poor intelligence networks in Africa posed a severe problem in combating terror attacks, thus the need for strong security institutions to do effective policing to curtail the situation.
Lt. Danbazau said this when he delivered a lecture on: “Terrorism, an Emerging Security Issue in Africa: Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward,” in Accra.
He said to fight terrorism in Africa, there was the need for high levels of intelligence to identify a threat relative to the amount of force required to neutralize it.
“When this is done on time, it helps policy makers to better implement policies that accurately specify the grievances that motivate terrorist groups and their supporters,” Lt Danbazau said.
He said the various terror attacks, which were threats to nation building, had thrived because of the porous nature of Africa’s borders, poverty, inadequate infrastructure and poor intelligence network.
Lt Danbazau said terrorist groups used more planned and organised models and with the emergence of ISIS and other terror groups such as Boko Haram and Al-Qaida, their financing models had become more complex and sophisticated.
The technological advancement and proliferation of financial instruments had made it difficult to trace and counter their flow of funds since this was what such groups used to lure more people to fight their cause, he said. He, therefore, called for massive education on terrorism because ignorance had also been a major factor contributing to the attacks.
Lieutenant Danbazau, however, urged governments and state actors to implement poverty reduction strategies to help fight attacks, strengthen border managements to effectively manage the movement of goods and persons and provide adequate infrastructure and equipment.
“Do not leave out traditional rulers in this fight because they live in communities where most of these attacks take place and, as such, can play important roles in the fight against terrorism.
Mr Benjamin Kumbour, the Minister of Defence, expressed gratitude to the Lt Danbazau for his lecture and advised African leaders to move a step further in fighting terrorism.
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