Nigeria has called for stronger political, economic, and security engagement with countries in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, while proposing a development compact to address the region’s security and development challenges.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, made the call on Saturday in Maiduguri, Borno State, at a two-day high-level retreat of Nigerian ambassadors and Sahel and Lake Chad diplomatic representatives.
The retreat, themed “Strengthening Nigeria’s Engagement with the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin Countries: Towards Peace, Security and Sustainable Regional Development,” brings together Nigerian ambassadors, diplomatic representatives from the Sahel, regional institutions, security agencies, development partners and other stakeholders.
Enikanolaiye said the choice of Maiduguri for the retreat was “deliberate, strategic and deeply symbolic,” describing the city as a testimony to resilience, recovery and renewed hope.
He said the retreat would enable participants to examine Nigeria’s relations with the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin and develop practical strategies for addressing shared challenges.
