Dr Mohamed Chambas, the African Union Chief Mediator on Sudan, says women and youths’ potentials in the Sahel should be harnessed in order to address the insecurity in the region.
Chambas said this while delivering a lecture at the Inugural Annual International Lecture of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday.
He said that women and youths constituted the majority of the population of the Sahelian countries, hence, the need to adequately engage them.
According to him, it is no longer acceptable to keep them marginalised in government and the economy.
”They are often the principal victims of insecurity and at the same time, the youths in particular have been mobilised by separatist groups as fighters.
”The potentials of woman and youths should be harnessed to contribute forcibly in the fight against poverty and violent extremism,” he said.
According to him, the empowerment can be done through affirmative action, laws, and aedquate education, skills development and providing finances for them.
He advised Nigeria to engage neighbouring countries through intelligence sharing and partnership through bilateral agreement to address security challenges. (NAN)
