As he arrives Rwanda Wednesday for the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) Summit, President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged Britain to sell more arms to African members of the group in order to check spreading insecurity and strengthen the continent’s defence systems.
This is sequel to his earlier suggestion that members of the Commonwealth, whose leaders are currently meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, cooperate more closely on matters of defense and security.
In a written Question-and-Answer session with financial news outlet, Bloomberg, that was published Tuesday, Buhari was asked to expatiate on how such cooperation can be actualised.
The President noted that African nations make up the largest contingent of Commonwealth members; and “there is no reason why one of the world’s foremost arms manufacturers should not sell more widely to this club – a group of allies.
“If they don’t get them from Britain, they shall necessarily get them from elsewhere. This only creates a mosaic of different systems across Commonwealth members on the continent.
“Instead, we should aspire to interoperability, which would have a material impact on the ground.”
Buhari pointed out that Commonwealth members in Africa often find themselves in the same (military or peace-keeping) missions, and that operating with the same hardware and systems, collaborating troops will be more effective.
“Such collaboration could also open doors to deeper intelligence sharing”, he said.
Aside security and defence, Buhari canvassed that Commonwealth countries can vote along same lines on issues important to them, at other international for a.
His words: “I also believe the club can be used far more effectively as a voting bloc at intergovernmental bodies to deliver outcomes for the whole of the Commonwealth – and individual members when they ask for backing on matters from the rest of the group on issues of importance to them.
“The Non-Aligned Movement present common voting positions, and they have far less in common than Commonwealth members. Why would we not try to do this?
“We can also do far more to reduce barriers to trade between members. When the UK remained in the EU that was less possible; now with the Commonwealth’s largest economy able to strike trade deals of its own, much has changed.
“The UK’s move to become the first country to sign a deal with the AfCFTA is an obvious example.
“With the 19 Commonwealth African members making up the majority of the African economy, a UK-AfCFTA deal is substantially a UK-Commonwealth deal.
“It should act as a spur for other leading non-African Commonwealth countries such as Australia and Canada to sign compatible agreements.”
