(JollofNews) – The extension by ECOWAS of the mandate of its military force (ECOMIG) for another 12 months in the Gambia is paramount to regional security.
In addition to peace enforcement efforts, ECOMIG is also mandated to play a pivotal role in the reforms and training of the Gambian Armed forces.
The decision by the regional body is inline with security policy efforts to transform a “patrimonial military institution” under decades long criminal states, to an “institutionalize military institution”.
A patrimonial military is one defined by ethnic and tribal favoritism, not rule bound and promotion and recruitment are not based on merit but by ethnicity and loyalty to the leader. Conversely, an institutionalize military is rule bound; recruitment and promotion are based on merit.
Arguably, two decades of criminal state governance in the Gambia, reduced the Gambian Military to a patrimonial institution. ECOMIG role in reforming the Gambian Armed Forces is therefore critical to consolidating the new Gambian Democratic Dispensation.
Similarly, extension of the mandate provides an opportunity to effectively deal with the lawlessness by roving criminals and bandits along the Gambia – Senegal border of the Casamance region. ECOMIG must secure the troubled border for lasting peace in the greater Senegambia region.
In a region threatened by terrorist and international criminal syndicates intermittently operating in the region (Burkina- Faso, Ivory-Coast, Mali and Nigeria), extension of the ECOMIG mandate will not only stabilize the Gambia, but contain the cross border lawlessness along the Gambia- Senegal border of Casamance to prevent these groups from tapping into security vulnerabilities.
By Dr Binneh S Minteh
Yes train a largely unskilled Gambian Soldiers simply to recognise where power lies – a mercenary army for the rich and the powerful.
Its doubtful if any training will ever be given to enable the army to effectively response to a national emergency like severe floods, drought, bush fires, locust plagues, Ebola outbreaks, let alone to fend off external threats.
What will ECOMIG train Gambian soldiers on. Ours are the best trained soldiers in the region, ask the UN mission in Darfur or elsewhere. We are not French so we either get the BATT back or leave the Senegalese to steal our resources
What is the point having these senegalese soldiers because sometimes back in the 80s our sisters were maltreated with there potential babies and those kids were rejected now instead of we get the british army training team back nor but we still want to learn more from them due to selfishness of our authorities the extension of there mandate in the gambia is paramount for regional security as people are fedup and feel sick of seeing them in our streets and homes
Is this the same Lt Binneh Minteh that was on duty in July 1994? He who guarded the Denton Bridge ?