M.O.U On Implementation Of National Early Warning & Response Mechanism

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REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE SIGNING OF MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL EARLY WARNING AND RESPONSE MECHANISM IN NIGERIA ON THE 13^TH OF JULY 2021.

PROTOCOLS

First, let me congratulate you the President of ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Jean Claude Brous, and all the members of the delegation, as well as all of us here, on what is clearly an important event in the history of ECOWAS and even in our own efforts at maintaining security not only in our nation but in the sub-region. I also want to commend you for your service to ECOWAS and your leadership which has brought this about. Thank you very much.

I don’t think there is a better time for this process that will lead to the full implementation of the Early Warning and the Response System. We are at a time nationally and sub-regionally where the security threats that confront us are becoming more violent, asymmetric, and spread faster than never before, and of course, cross border in their nature.

There is no question at all that this is a moment when we really should be looking at how to collaborate in real-time and increasingly more imaginative ways in sharing information and also sharing competence in order to confront the security challenges that confront us.

This Early Warning and Response System is one that is timely and important for us as a nation and of course sub-regionally. I think that ECOWAS should commend itself and we should commend ourselves because following the 1999 protocols, we have made tremendous progress especially with respect to peace-keeping, to ensuring that we are in a position to manage security threats and also to provide platforms for conflict resolution and conflict management.

I think that is something we need to commend ourselves about and I think also, the clear expansion of the ECOWAS Early Warning and Response network to include security indicators and terrorism indicator, which is very important and I think that has helped a great deal in not only focusing on terrorism which is today is possibly the most dangerous threat that we face, but also in giving us an opportunity as a sub-region to bring the very best possible ideas and also to be able to check these threats as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

I will like again congratulate you and congratulate ourselves on this important innovation and to assure of our President, President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to this process and to ensure that this Early Warning and Response System is fully implemented and we look forward to working with you to ensure full implementation.

I have also noted the specific request that you made and we will definitely ensure that those requests are processed. Just as you know, we are all very committed to ensuring that not only is ECOWAS able to fulfil its objectives because it’s in our own national interest as well, but because we also believe in the safety and security of our sub-region, it is the safety and security of our nation as well.

I would like to thank you again for all the efforts you’ve made and to say that we are certainly happy to continue to work with you to see the full realization of this Early Warning and Response Network.

Thank you very much.