Last week, An official of the United Nations expressed concern over myriad sources of instability in the West African region, specifically the Mano River Union (MRU) countries. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa, Said Djinnit, told the Security Council that coordinated efforts and enhanced regional and international cooperation are needed to address what he thinks are potential threats to the MRU region.

His Concerns Are not only legitimate but are cardinal to sustaining democracy, social economic stability and protecting the fragile environment that countries like Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Guinea now enjoy. These countries have experienced violence over the years and the probability of returning to the past cannot be dismissed.

Ambassador Said Djinnit said the West African sub-region continues to face multiple political and security challenges mainly linked to transnational organized crime, piracy and terrorist activities as well as election-related tensions in some countries. He believes that commitment from governments, regional organizations and the international community as a whole is needed to tackle these challenges.

In His Briefing to the Security Council, Mr. Djinnit pointed to three main zones where there are instabilities: the Sahel region, the Gulf of Guinea and the Mano River. In the Sahel, Mr. Djinnit said, the UN Office for West Africa (UNOWA) has been working closely with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the UN Office in Mali and the now defunct African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA), to promote political dialogue to resolve the conflict in the northern part of the country, where a rebellion of ethnic Tuareg groups early last year displaced hundreds of thousands of people and prompted the Government to request assistance from France to halt the southward march of extremists.

Ambassador Djinnit Observed that in addition to the crisis in Mali, the Sahel is suffering from serious environmental degradation, desertification, food insecurity, drug trafficking and terrorism. Turning to the Gulf of Guinea, he said piracy continues to be a threat negatively affecting international maritime trade routes and taking a toll on economic progress in both coastal and landlocked countries.

However, He Was encouraged by the resolve of West African leaders during the Summit of the Gulf of Guinea Heads of States and Governments on maritime safety and security held last month in Cameroon to establish an effective framework to combat piracy and armed robbery at sea.

We Agree With the UN diplomat whose analysis of the political situation and the threat pose by pirates and drug traffickers must be seriously confronted by West African leaders by enforcing all measures necessary to protect the region.

West African Leaders must know that drug traffickers impact negatively on a rising young population, most of who are without employment or any opportunity to make a decent living after college. If the young people who are college graduates cannot get job, then imagine those who are unskilled. Hence, they become vulnerable to any form of manipulations.

Our Leaders In West Africa need to muster the political will to deal with these problems: piracy, drug trafficking and unemployment. They may appear insurmountable; however, we urge them to forge cooperation and partnership with western governments and international organizations to eliminate the threat.