African countries at the Élysées Summit on Peace And Security in Africa, spearheaded by the president of France are to form an African Stand-By Force to respond to any security challenge within the African continent.
Nigeria, one of Africa’s highest contributors to peacekeeping, can draw from the force that will become operational by 2015.
The countries believe that the Stand-By Force will be more efficient than the ad-hoc arrangement where France and other countries like Nigeria have have to pass through so much pressure in an effort to raise intervention forces to tackle insecurity in the continent.
The summit also looked at putting an end to the internal problems especially the infiltration of small arms and light weapons into the continent.
Nigeria’s President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, believes that proliferation of small arms into Africa is responsible for the upsurge in terrorism.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Nurudeen Mohammed, explained that the Stand-By Force would reduce the pressure and demand from Nigeria for military intervention.
“President Jonathan tasked the meeting to also look at the source of funding for the agency,” he said.
The 2-day summit in French capital, Paris, attended by over 50 heads of governments had the growing concern of insecurity in the continent as top of its agenda.
Countries like France and Nigeria have been over stretched as they are the ones that are easily called upon to assist when wars and terror attacks break up.
The Élysées summit has exposed the visiting presidents to how peace, environment and development are interrelated and world leaders are expecting them to put the lesson from the meeting into action to eradicate wars in the African continent.