Terrorism now West Africa’s biggest threat — ECOWAS Political Affairs Commissioner

Dr. Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, has observed that terrorism is now the most immediate existential threat to West Africa.

He made the statements in Accra on Thursday, April 24, while delivering the keynote address at a regional convening organized by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) on the theme "Foreign Powers, Interests and Impacts in West Africa."

Addressing the audience, Dr. Musah explained that terrorist operations in the region have evolved beyond isolated attacks and are now mimicking state functions.

“Terrorism is by far the immediate and present existential threat to West Africa,” he observed.

“The Al-Qaida and Islamic State affiliates in Africa… aim to control territory, run an economy (illegal mining, taxation and protection levy), operate an army and propagate culture (perverted Islam),” he said.

He asserted that organizations like ISGS, JNIM, and Al-Shabab have a level of sophistication and territorial ambition that has never been seen in the region's post-independence history.

He added that weak governance, state instability, and global geopolitical changes that have allowed non-state actors to flourish all contribute to the emergence of these jihadist organizations.

The ECOWAS political affairs chief called for urgent and coordinated responses to confront the growing threat, emphasising that “this asymmetric conflict environment” could worsen if left unchecked.

The two-day convening by CDD-Ghana, forms part of broader efforts to reflect on the impacts of foreign powers in the sub-region, especially as ECOWAS marks its 50th anniversary this year.