BY MUSA IDRIS UMAR, OCTOBER 21, 2025 | 09:57 AM

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has called for a comprehensive and coordinated strategy to address the worsening security and humanitarian situation in the Sahel region.

The governor made the call on Sunday while delivering a keynote address at the 5th Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development in Aswan, Egypt.

Speaking during a roundtable discussion, the governor said the crisis in the Sahel cannot be resolved through military means alone.

He emphasized the need for a multifaceted approach that integrates security, development, and humanitarian support.

‘The crises of instability, terrorism, and displacement that plague the Sahel cannot be solved by kinetic means alone,’ Zulum said.

‘We must look beyond the battlefield. There is an urgent need for a multifaceted approach that combines security, development, and humanitarian assistance in a synchronized manner.’

The governor, whose state has been at the center of Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin, also called for stronger regional cooperation.

He noted that extremist groups operate freely across borders and that the response must be equally transnational.

‘In the Sahel context, you cannot address the challenges by just looking at two or three countries,’ he explained.

‘You need to look deeper into the political region of the Sahel as defined by the United Nations Strategy, which covers 10 countries, including Mauritania, Gambia, and Guinea, among others.’

‘Collaboration among the larger Sahel communities is paramount,’ he added.

Zulum further identified poverty, lack of education, and climate change-induced scarcity as the main factors fueling the crisis.

He argued that humanitarian efforts, while helpful, are not sustainable without long-term development interventions.

‘For the last 15 years, we have had many interventions in Borno State, but humanitarian support is not a sustainable solution,’ Zulum said.

‘There is a need for sustainable solutions, including development. The nexus between peace, development, and security need not be overemphasized. If there is no development, there cannot be peace or security.’

Other speakers at the forum included Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptian Expatriates, Dr. Badr Abdelatty; Mali’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdoulaye Diop; and Burkina Faso’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré.