Why Africa Needs Stand-By Force – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday said the Federal Government was favourably disposed to the formation of an Africa Stand-by Force that will be charged with the responsibility of restoring peace to troubled nations on the continent.

According to President Jonathan, with Nigeria being a major contributor of troops and other resources to the restoration of peace in countries in turmoil, the move is a welcome development.
He spoke in an interview with France 24 television at the sideline of a summit on peace and security in Africa hosted by President Francois Hollande of France.
Information Nigeria gathered that one of the agreements reached at the summit is the formation of the Africa Stand-by Force not later than 2015 to enable the continent take charge of its own security.
Jonathan said, “We totally support it (the formation of the force) because we also believe that by having a robust stand-by force, it is much better than the ad-hoc contributions by Nations.
“They can mobilise very quickly whenever we have challenges and there is the need to deploy them.
“So, we support it and we thank the President and people of France for supporting Africa in this regard”.
Mr. Jonathan in his argument in support of the formation of the Force which he said would be dedicated to conflicts resolution added that it will assist the continent in nipping any crisis in the bud before it spirals out of control.
He also argued that with the force in place, there will be no need for waiting for other developed nations to send troops to crisis zones in the continent or awaiting UN Resolutions before troop deployment.
“When you have this stand-by force, they now have an operational order covering the whole of Africa.
“Anywhere there is conflict, it will not require UN resolution, but a host country’s invitation and an endorsement by the AU,” he added.
The President, however, suggested that the composition of the force should be elastic in nature with contributions of member states depending on challenges and resources.
He said, “As we build up the resources, we increase the strength of the Force.
“You will not just have men and women wearing uniform, at least they must be equipped in term of arms, logistic and the Force will be under the AU”.
President Jonathan called on France and the European Union to assist in the formation of the Force through capacity building, training and provision of sophisticated equipment