On behalf of my boss, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, today I declared open the maiden edition of the African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit 2025, holding in Abuja.
In my remarks, I stressed the need for collective action and cooperation among African nations to effectively combat terrorism, cybercrime, transnational crime, and other forms of insecurity on the continent.
I also implored the continent’s defence chiefs to come up with a fresh doctrine of continental defence built on trust, shared intelligence, and coordinated strategy.
Indeed, there must be a framework for African defence institutions to speak with one voice and act with one purpose.
From the deserts where insurgency festers, to the high seas where piracy prowls, from the silent corridors of cybercrime to the ruthless networks of transnational criminals, none of these tragedies respects borders – and neither should our response.