Military chaplains and religious affairs personnel from Nigeria and nine other African countries gathered in Accra, Ghana, last week for the first West Africa Religious Affairs Symposium (WARAS), US Chaplain Kevin Forrester, who is the Command Chaplain at US Africa Command, confirmed last week. This regional meeting placed chaplaincy alongside military readiness, ethics and resilience.
The three-day symposium, known as WARAS, was co-hosted by US Africa Command and the Ghanaian Armed Forces from 14 to 16 July. Participants came from the national security forces of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo.
The meeting brought together Christian chaplains and Muslim religious affairs personnel from across the region to discuss how military religious leaders support troops facing stress, trauma, moral injury and the pressures of operations in volatile security environments. Organisers said the symposium was intended to deepen regional partnerships and broaden cooperation among partner militaries.
For Nigeria, the symposium came against the backdrop of continuing military operations against Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province, bandit groups, kidnapping networks and other threats that have strained the armed forces and complicated the work of commanders. In such an environment, chaplains and military imams are used not only for worship services but also for counselling, morale support, interfaith coordination and help in preserving cohesion in mixed-faith units.
