WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2010-04-11 Time: 09:00:01 Posted By: News Poster
By Juliana Taiwo
Abuja – The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike, has stressed the need for a collective security mechanism approach in addressing the daunting security challenges confronting the African continent.
The CDS made this point in a paper he delivered recently at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), London, United Kingdom titled “Nigeria and the Quest for an Enduring Security Mechanism in Africa”.
According to him, Africa is confronted with several security challenges posing direct threat to peace, security and development on the continent, noting that given the withering of international boundaries as a fallout of globalisation, these challenges also have the potential to impact on security in the wider global arena.
He compartmentalised these security challenges into three broad categories namely socio-political, criminal and environmental security challenges. According to him, ” in spite of her vast endowment with natural resources, Africa today remains the poorest continent in the world judging by all yardsticks of developmental assessment. This paradoxical situation derives from a combination of factors that have tended to fuel a vicious circle of poverty and insecurity on the Continent. They include inadequate educational opportunities that has managed to ensure that ignorance thrives; dearth of social infrastructure like good transportation, power and healthcare facilities all of which are necessary catalysts for development and growth. These problems have remained intractable and even aggravated by a glaring lack of vision and political insensitivity on the part of most post-colonial African leaders”.
On the political front, Dike noted that, “Africa is highly vulnerable to insecurity, instability and conflicts emanating from the nature and character of politics in many of the constituent states. Foremost among these are: unconstitutional changes of government, dictatorship, corruption and bad governance. All these factors have led to the weakening of the major institutions of the states and contributed to the incidents of state fragility, outbreak of violent conflicts, insurgency, rebellion and out right anarchy as we are witnessing in Somalia”.
The recurring ugly incidence of all kinds of trans-national crimes which are causing or contributing to insecurity and instability within and across states in Africa is according to him, the consequence of corruption and weak state institutions. Such crimes as “human trafficking, illegal exploitation of minerals and gem stones, crude oil theft and illegal oil bunkering, piracy at sea, smuggling, illegal dumping of toxic waste, drug trafficking, proliferation of small arms and terrorism. The problems of illegal exploration of minerals and gemstones and crude oil theft gave rise to the phenomenon of resource conflicts as we witnessed in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and are still witnessing in the DR Congo, Angola and Nigeria”, he pointed out. He lamented that Africa’s waterways have in recent times emerged as some of the world’s most dangerous routes for vessels and their crew members in terms of pirate attacks. Incidents of maritime piracy in Africa
are concentrated in three main regions on the continent, namely, East Africa (around the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden in the Horn of Africa); West Africa (especially in the Gulf of Guinea); and the Mozambique Channel/Cape sea route in Southern Africa. The scourge of piracy is a serious security challenge to the economic development of the Continent. According to him, trans-national terrorism made possible by the porosity of Africa’s borders, weak governments and ineffectual national security systems in Africa, is another key issue that is now receiving attention at security desks, both at the national and continental levels.
The CDS posited that these security challenges have ensured that many African states remain weak and devoid of necessary capacity to perform most of the basic functions of the state. The logical consequence is the frequent outbreak and persistence of crisis, insecurity and instability to the detriment of growth and development. He went further in his paper to discuss the ECOWAS Regional Security Mechanism which according to him served as a model and impetus for the continental version which he hope will be strengthened to offer effective collective security mechanism he envisioned for Africa.
Dike was a Guest Speaker at a lecture organised by the prestigious Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in the United Kingdom. RUSI is an independent think thank engaged in the cutting edge defence and security research. A unique institution founded in 1831 by the Duke of Wellington, RUSI embodies nearly two centuries of forward thinking, free discussion and careful reflection on the defence and security matters. Other distinguished leaders and statesmen who have delivered papers at the institute in the recent time include, President George Bush, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, NATO’s Secretary General, etc.
Original Source: 
Original date published: 1 April 2010
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201004010838.html?viewall=1