By Christiana Ekpa
in a bid to strengthen peace and security in Africa, the Deputy Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has proposed a fundamental reorientation of the security partnership between Africa and the European Union.
Kalu made the proposal at a meeting with Ms. Ingeborg Ter Laak and Mr. Benjamin Oppermann on the sidelines of his series of engagements at the European Union (EU) Parliament in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday.
LaaK is a member of European Parliament as well as Vice Chair of the Delegation to the OACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and of the Delegation to the Africa-EU Parliamentary Assembly while Oppermann is Policy Adviser in the European People’s Party Political Group on Foreign Affairs (AFET Committee) and Security and Defence (SEDE Committee).
Kalu emphasized the need for an African-led, EU-supported framework, where the EU acts as a strategic enabler rather than a direct military intervenor.
The Deputy Speaker who is leading as a delegation of the Pan African Parliament (PAP) noted that the prevailing model of direct European military intervention has proven unsustainable and largely ineffective.
He said: “The prevailing model of direct European military intervention has proven unsustainable and largely ineffective. The G5 Sahel initiative and the broader EU Sahel Strategy (2015-2020) have failed to contain extremist groups in the region, often lacking local ownership and being perceived as neocolonial, ultimately leading to rejection by local populations”.
Kalu however proposed that the EU should focus on strengthening African institutions, rather than creating parallel structures.
The Deputy Speaker also identified several key areas for collaboration between Africa and the European Union.
They included strengthening African institutions through enhanced financial support, such as the ECOWAS Standby Force and Logistics Base, and the AU Peace Fund Enhancement; developing joint financial instruments, such as blended finance mechanisms to de-risk European investment in Africa; promoting trade and investment framework reform, including modernizing trade agreements and protecting intellectual property rights.
He said: “We propose a fundamental reorientation toward an African-led, EU supported framework where the EU acts as a strategic enabler rather than ‘boots on ground’; European nations sell, not just donate, necessary kinetic equipment including Italian UAVs and German Eurofighter Typhoon jets for effective counter-terrorism operations; focus shifts to strengthening African institutions rather than creating parallel structures.
