Save West Africa from drug barons – Kofi Annan
Mr Kofi Annan is worried about the menace of the transit of drug trafficking from West Africa to final destinations in Europe and the Americas.
According to the immediate past UN Secretary-General, it would be a tragedy if drugs were again “to plunge West Africa into conflict and destroy the progress and hard-won democratic gains of recent years.”
Over the last decade, Mr Annan says, West Africa has made encouraging progress in terms of ending conflicts, acceleration of economic growth and practice of democracy.
But this progress, Mr Annan wrote in a feature published by the UK Guardian January 29, 2012 “is increasingly at risk from the threat posed by international drug trafficking and the criminal networks behind the trade.”
“The smuggling of illegal drugs through West Africa, notably cocaine and heroin, has increased dramatically. A decade ago, the total seizures of cocaine in the region were less than 100 kilos. By 2009, this had increased to nearly 6,500 kilos, Mr Annan writes.
Citing estimates from the World Bank, Mr Annan said cocaine with a street value of $6.8billion was trafficked through the region the previous year.
West Africa and other regions in Africa are not immune from these pressures as Mr Annan says they face three inter-related dangers from illegal drug trafficking.
“First, there is the threat from drug-funded corruption, which can corrode fledgling state institutions and undermine good governance and the rule of law. Second, there is the risk that drug traffickers link up with other criminal elements or, worse, terrorist groups that may be trying to infiltrate and destabilise the region,” he said.
Mr Annan continues “there is the harmful impact on the health and social cohesion of local communities caused by growing drug consumption by people within the region. Evidence of this disturbing trend is already apparent. According to a recent report from the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime, in 2009 around a third of the South American cocaine destined for Europe and shipped via West Africa was consumed locally.”
Even though organisations such as the UN and ECOWAS have already sounded the alarm about the growing scale of the threat and the dangers it poses to governance, security and democracy there remains an urgent need to accelerate and ensure a coherent response at the national, regional and international levels, he noted.
“We need to take action now before the grip of the criminal networks linked to the trafficking of illicit drugs tightens into a stranglehold on West African political and economic development. That can only achieved through a strong, well-co-ordinated and integrated effort led by West African states with the strong backing of the international community. In particular, the region needs more help from those countries that are producing and consuming these drugs,” text of the article said.
Mr Annan hinted that a meeting of independent experts from within the region and the wider international community will be convened later this year 2012 to help provide new impetus and solutions to the threat.
The aim is to assess the dangers that drug trafficking poses to governance, security and democracy in West Africa and to propose concrete measures to combat this insidious menace, Mr Annan stated.
By Ekow Quandzie