When I received a call penultimate week from a good brother and friend, Mr. Shu’aibu Gara-Gombe, that the Moroccan Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency, Moha Ouali Tagma, wanted me to participate in the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISiS, otherwise known as Daesh in Arabic, I wondered whether it was a joke.
Firstly, I am not a security officer, but Mr. Gombe told me the Kingdom of Morocco, through its embassy in Nigeria, has observed, with appreciation, how I have been helping the Nigerian security services by constantly writing about the ills of terrorism and separatism, and that the high-profile meeting, billed for the Moroccan city of Marrakech, was to seriously enrich my experience and provide me the tools, mentally speaking, to continue to do more for Nigeria.
And what I thought was a joke turned to reality. Not only did Gara-Gombe take me to the Ambassador, the trip took place last week under full sponsorship of the Embassy.
And it was starting right from the embassy that I started to experience the warmth of the true friendship and brotherhood of the government and good people of Morocco, especially towards we Nigerians. After brief talks with the Ambassador, the Deputy Ambassador, His Excellency, El Hussein Oustitane, personally led me to the Consular Section of the Embassy, where I was granted visa gratis in a matter of minutes.
There, I was given the name and contact phone numbers of Casablanca-based Driss Ouahi, an official of the Moroccan government, who turned out to be one of the warmest personalities I have ever met. He it was who denied himself all comforts to make sure the memory of my first visit to Morocco remains an everlasting one. I surely will narrate this in more detail when I write a travelogue on the memorable trip, in the course of which I also met some of the brightest journalists and editors that the continent of African has ever produced.
Apart from the annual congresses of the World Association of Newspaper Publishers, which also includes the World Editors Forum, that I always attend, this was the highest ranking global meeting I have ever participated in, with America, the country that has been at the frontline of world countries fighting terrorism, playing a critical role at the Marrakech meeting.
Established in September 2014, the Global Coalition now has 84 partners, all of whom attended the all-important meeting through high-profile representations.
The initial objectives of the coalition, as explained in the “Main Vision” document adopted in June 2015, shed light on the areas of action and general structure of the coalition, covering five working groups, namely military action, the fight against terrorist fighters and separatists, the fight against the financing of ISIS, strategic communication and stabilization of liberated areas.
This was the first time the continent of Africa was hosting a meeting of the Global Coalition, and it was in recognition of the leadership role that Morocco has been playing in the fight against terrorism in Africa in particular, and the global stage in general.
The North-African country has been in the forefront in the promotion of solidarity-based, south-south triangular cooperation in order to deal with the complex and transnational nature of terrorism threat in Africa. That choice has translated into the launch of projects in concert with several countries in crucial areas for stability and sustainable human development.
At the continental level, in addition to military training, Morocco has invested in bilateral collaboration, the sharing and exchange of intelligence, the deployment of teams to assist and guide local services, the training and initiation of ideas in intelligence techniques, the provision of logistical resources and the organisation of exercises and operational programmes.
The key roles that the Moroccan nation has been playing towards curbing the spread of terrorism and separatism is so huge that one article cannot encapsulate all of it. This column will, as much as possible, therefore, serialise my observations at the critical meeting, and how Nigeria can utilise it in curbing the spread of terrorism afflicting it in many forms, including ISWAP/Boko Haram in the North-East, banditry in the North-West and North-Central, violent separatist groups in the South-East, etcetera.
It was courtesy of the Ministerial Meeting that I came to learn that 41 per cent of the terrorist activities of ISIS were taking place in Africa, and that the Sahel alone accounts for 35 per cent of global deaths.
In his address at the opening ceremony of the meeting, Nasser Bourita, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Morocco, lamented that Africa has lost a whopping $170 billion to terrorist activities in the continent, and that since the 2003 terrorist attack on the city of Casablanca, Morocco has succeeded in dismantling 239 terrorist cells in that wonder country.
It says a lot about the commitment of Morocco to global peace and prosperity that in spite of the fact that it has succeeded in quashing terrorism in its shores, it is, as a responsible global nation, concerned that the menace is spreading elsewhere on the African continent, including Nigeria, and has vowed not to rest until terrorism is wiped off the face of the earth. It has found a good partner in the United States of America, which has been spending billions of dollars towards eradication of terrorism globally.
The Ministerial Meeting passed important resolutions at the end of all the sessions, which are captured as follows:
“Participants in the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, which convened in Marrakech, expressed concern over the proliferation of separatist movements in Africa, reaffirming their shared determination to continue the fight against Daesh.
“The participants noted with concern the proliferation of non-state actors, including separatist movements that generate destabilization and further vulnerability of African states and that ultimately favor Daesh/ISIS and other terrorist and violent extremist organizations, said a joint communiqué issued at the end of the meeting attended by the representatives of 79 countries.
“Under the auspices of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS, the Africa Focus Group will bolster the civilian-led counterterrorism capabilities of African members of the Defeat Daesh/ISIS Coalition, they said, stressing the need for the Africa Focus Group to foster synergies with other existing international, sub-regional and regional counterterrorism efforts and initiatives on the African continent.
“The Ministers also recalled that the Defeat Daesh/ISIS Coalition will continue to be a civilian-driven effort by, with, and through our African members, in line with the principles of national ownership, and in accord with the specific needs of African member states.
“They also noted the nexus between separatist and terrorist movements acting in collusion, exploiting existing vulnerabilities in a way that multiplies their destabilizing impact.
“In this sense, the participants emphasized the need to address the evolving threat of Daesh, especially in Africa, by strengthening the counter-terrorism capabilities of African members and taking into account the challenges and threats posed by the proliferation of non-state actors, including separatist groups, as a destabilizing factor and vulnerability in the region.
“They also stressed the importance of addressing underlying causes to insecurity in Africa, while reiterating that any lasting solution to halting the spread of Daesh/ISIS on the continent will rely primarily on national authorities, as well as sub-regional and regional efforts and initiatives that acknowledge and address the political and economic drivers of conflict.
“The Ministers emphasized the need to address the global Daesh/ISIS threat through holistic and comprehensive coordination of efforts, which are a hallmark of the Defeat Daesh/ISIS Coalition. Such efforts include the initiatives forwarded by the Defeat Daesh/ISIS Coalition Working Groups, including Communications, Counter ISIS Finance, Foreign Terrorist Fighters, and Stabilization, the statement said.
“They also welcomed the first Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS meeting to be convened in Africa
“The Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS was held at the joint invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Resident Abroad, Mr. Nasser Bourita, and the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
“The event is a turning point in the commitment and international coordination in the fight against “Daesh”, with a particular focus on the African continent and the evolving terrorist threat in the Middle East and other regions.”
(To be continued)
