Burkina Faso and Mali were absent from the inaugural Pan-African Defence Chiefs of staff meeting hosted in Abuja on Monday, August 25, underscoring strained ties between the two Sahel nations and their neighbours.
The two countries, alongside Niger, withdrew from the regional bloc ECOWAS in January 2025 after forming their own Alliance of Sahel States (AES) to coordinate responses to insurgencies. While Niger sent a representative, Colonel Major Soumana Kalkoye, from its Embassy in Abuja, it was the sole AES member present at the landmark Conference. The meeting, convened by Nigeria, drew senior officers from across the continent for discussions on strengthening security cooperation and developing African-led solutions to persistent defence challenges.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, urged participants to build a new security architecture rooted in collaboration, warning that threats such as terrorism and insurgency transcend national borders. “True security is not achieved in isolation,” he said, stressing the importance of unity in addressing Africa’s evolving security landscape. Despite occasional strains in military cooperation between Niger and Nigeria in countering Boko Haram and other extremist groups, Abuja positioned the talks as a step towards forging collective strategies to address insecurity and promote stability across the continent.