Ghana, on the platform of Accra Initiative, has sent a delegation to Nigeria’s North East Borno, the epicentre of insurgency, to study the handling of Boko Haram terrorists.
The delegation arrived in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, to study what Ghana referred to as “Borno Model”.
The Accra Initiative aims to prevent spill-over of terrorism from the Sahel and to address transnational organised crime and violent extremism in member countries’ border areas.
The Deputy Governor of Borno, Mr Usman Kadafur, received the team in Maiduguri and said the Borno model was a non-kenetic approach that facilitates the surrender of over 160,000 insurgents and their families.
Kadafur said the model which comprises of demobilization, deradicalisation, rehabilitation, reconciliation and reintegration, has brought relative peace across the state and facilitated the return of displaced persons to their ancestral home.
“We visited some countries like Columbia and Rwanda to come up with a model which has the support of the Federal Government and other stakeholders,” Kadafur said.
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of Accra Initiative, Mr Benedict Dere, said the team was in Maiduguri to see the success story of the Borno model.
“We have seen what you are doing here through the use of non-kenetic approach which is very valuable,” Dere said.
While noting that the visit had more to do with preventive measures and other relevant areas, Dere said that the team would use the gains from the visit to reinforce efforts on preemptive action in the Sahel.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to Chief of Defence Staff on Non-kenetic Operations, Mr Aliyu Gebi who lauded the Borno Government for the Borno model observed that while kenetic operations wins the war, the non-kenetic operations wins the peace.
“The military has won the war but to win the peace you need the political will, you need the coordination, you need the cohesive management of resources and the exploration of innovative ideas organic to the contextual communities.
“It has to be locally sourced, locally owned so that the community can feel the sense of ownership and belonging, and that is what the Borno Model is all about, ” Gebi said.
Some members of the Accra initiative team include Maj.-Gen. M.A Amoah the Force Commander, Brig.-Gen. S. Adamu the Coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor, and Sophie MajoriBanks the Project Officer Fusion Cell on Dialogue and Peace Process in North East and Sahel.
Accra Initiative was launched in September 2017 by Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo in response to growing insecurity linked to violent extremism in the region .
The launch predates Burkina Faso’s Operation Otapuanu in March, after which Burkinabe officials told their southern counterparts of extremists’ attempts to penetrate their territories.
Burkina Faso was considered a buffer against the spread of violent extremism to coastal states.
But since a series of attacks in its eastern region, some close to the borders with its southern neighbours, it no longer is.