With a continent, particularly a sub-region, where the security situation remains volatile, States need expertise in this area to prevent risks.
By Justin GOMIS – After resigning from the ECOWAS Commission, Abdou Lat Gaye wants to use his career with several years of experience in the field of peace and security for the benefit of Senegal and African countries. He has set up a firm to work on consolidating peace in Africa called “Peace Consult”, which will be based in Senegal. “It is a cabinet which will try to support the State, partners, communities to face the various threats in the West African region and in Senegal,” indicates Abdou Lat Gaye.
The challenge, according to the initiator, is to provide answers to the security questions which are tearing apart the sub-region shaken by the terrorist and cross-border threat which is weakening several countries in the Sahel. “We are experiencing a situation that is no longer ordinary with the dislocation of ECOWAS itself, but also with terrorists who, more and more, are approaching our borders,” explains Mr. Gaye. According to him, “there are also other forms of threat to human security in the political domain with the violent elections known in the sub-region.”
Today, the progress of democracy is slowed down by several events. Which are linked to “governance, dirt, environmental issues and issues related to migration and land. In addition, there is also the galloping demographics which are still taboo in our country and where education and training of young people are lacking. Today, there is a problem with Jakarta, which has become a real social problem. You take Yoff beach to Tivaouane-Peul, there are thousands of young people there without education, without work. These are social problems that must be faced. The State is not the only one empowered to deal with these problems. We have a certain number of experts in Senegal and elsewhere, at ECOWAS level, who have decided to work together to carry out this project,” he reassured.
An opinion shared by Penda Mbow, who magnified the consultant’s initiative in putting his experience at the service of this tool and the States of the community. For the historian, the sub-region greatly needs the expertise of its children. Because, according to her, “one of our weak points as Africans is the absence of strategic studies. We have always been criticized for this. At a time when other regions of the world are working over a long period of time, we are in the daily grind, trying to solve one problem after another. And while we are trying to solve everyday problems, others are thinking about our future and continue to trample on us and always be above us,” she explained. According to Penda Mbow, Senegal is one of the few stable countries in West Africa torn apart by numerous coups d’état and also terrorist attacks. But this should not lead us to give up. “We must respond to our Senegalese problems and at the same time respond to the problems of the countries around us,” she argued. She specifies “that if other countries are not in the development dynamic, everything that Senegal does will be in vain”.
With the experience he has capitalized within ECOWAS, Abdou Lat Gaye wants to contribute, with all those who can help, to change the situation a little at this very crucial moment for Senegal. Moreover, he had put in place an alert mechanism. “When I was at ECOWAS, I put forward the idea of setting up national centers which will take care of the coordination of the early warning and response mechanism in all member states. Only Senegal and Cape Verde do not have these centers. But the vice-president of ECOWAS, in charge of these centers, is doing what is necessary so that we very quickly support Senegal in the establishment of this center,” he promised, in the sense that the vision of this project consists of “reaching out to communities and highlighting their cultural and social wealth by favoring areas such as education, youth employment, the promotion of citizenship to build peaceful, stable, inclusive societies and prosperous.
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