Ibrahim Gambari warned that Africa faces over 1,000 terrorist groups, urging nations to secure themselves first and strengthen local defence industries.
Former Minister of External Affairs and Nigeria’s ex-UN representative, Ibrahim Gambari, has warned that more than 1,000 insurgent groups are currently operating across Africa.
Speaking at the African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit 2025 in Abuja on Monday, Gambari urged African nations to prioritise securing their own countries before seeking to stabilise the region and the continent. “We have to first secure our countries before we can secure our regions and then the continent,” he said.
He stressed the need for Africa to strengthen its defence industries, develop indigenous technologies, and design a security framework that ensures human security.
ECOWAS President Omar Touray, represented by Commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah, noted that the Sahel region accounted for 51 per cent of deaths from terrorism in 2024. He called on the UN to fund 75 per cent of African-led counterterrorism operations.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, reaffirmed Nigeria’s readiness to collaborate with other nations, stressing: “We must be the architects of our defence and security.”