Instability In West Africa Could Be Dealt With By Elected Leaders - President

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that democratically elected leaders are best suited to address instability in certain West African states."In a sense, you cannot deal with security on its own without considering the quality of governance of those waging the battle for security; this is a mistaken view," he continued.In addition, the President called for closer cooperation between the United Nations and ECOWAS member states to help restore security and stability in the troubled nations and restore democratic rule.President Akufo-Addo spoke on Monday at Accra's Jubilee House during a meeting with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, Leonardo Santos Simao.ConcernsThe President stated that the majority of regional leaders were preoccupied with re-establishing democratic rule in countries that had recently experienced coups.Burkina Faso's efforts to combat the terrorist threat have not improved, and they have not been able to stem the tide of terrorism in the country.We must restore democratic rule to these nations, he said.President Akufo-Addo stated, however, that the methods for addressing these challenges were proving to be challenging, and he implored the United Nations to expand the mandate of its Multidimensional Integral Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) to make it more robust.The relatively limited mandate MINUSMA had in Mali, as well as its incapacity to act when action was required, rendered the intervention unsuccessful, according to him.Economic expansionPresident Akufo-Addo added that in addressing security issues, "we cannot ignore the need to find ways to spur economic growth and national development.""We are discussing poor states with severe poverty and youth unemployment, and the only way to address these issues is to improve the economic situation," he added.The President stated that as the region strived to ensure peace and stability, it should also devote space and time to continuing the search for ways to strengthen its economies, as "this is an integral part of the stability quest."

This is an area where the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) can collaborate, coordinate ideas, and reach consensus."Mr. Simao stated that his organisation had briefed the UN Security Council on the situation in Niger and the threat of terrorism and violent extremism, as well as governance and environmental challenges, on two separate occasions.He stated that he had visited nearly every troubled region in West Africa and conducted discussions with their respective leaders about the way forward.Mr. Simao also questioned President Akufo-Addo on how the United Nations could work more effectively in the region to assist in overcoming the prevalent challenges, especially in the areas of combating terrorism and violent crime.