Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, has told ECOWAS member states that the country will overcome its insurgency challenges, but not through military action alone.
Speaking at a gathering of ECOWAS ambassadors and permanent representatives at Nigeria House in New York, Mr Ibrahim stressed that the region’s security crises stem from “generational grievances” requiring broader, non-kinetic solutions.
“These are not issues we can resolve with missiles alone. Generational grievances demand wider thinking and deeper engagement,” he said.
He noted that excessive reliance on military operations has slowed progress against insurgencies across West Africa. “Most insurgencies in West Africa persist because we rely mainly on kinetic approaches instead of combining them with non-kinetic solutions,” the envoy explained.
Drawing on Nigeria’s history, Mr Ibrahim added: “We survived a civil war from 1967 to 1970 and fought Boko Haram. We will overcome our problems.”
The ambassador credited President Bola Tinubu’s leadership with advancing comprehensive measures to tackle insecurity while strengthening democratic governance. “Fortunately, we have a liberal democrat leading a liberal democracy. President Tinubu believes every issue should be discussed before decisions are taken,” he said.
Mr Ibrahim also called for closer collaboration among West African nations, urging that no country can face such threats alone. “Even America still seeks collaboration and partnership,” he noted.
He advocated deeper economic integration, including discussions on regional financial institutions and monetary cooperation, and reminded the audience that the UN itself was founded on collective responsibility and international partnership.