Africa needs standby force to tackle al-Shabaab threat

The recent bombings in Kampala, Uganda, by the terrorist group al-Shabaab illustrate the need for the swift establishment of the African Standby Force (ASF), a longstanding goal of the African Union.  

Such a force would serve as an alliance that can protect members and intervene in various troubled hotspots in the continent without the continent having to look outside for help.

As the heads of state of various African countries prepare to meet in Kampala, where the callous and unacceptable terrorist attacks on innocent football fans took place, they must return the ASF agenda to the very top of their list of priorities.  

Africa cannot rely solely on external interference in its affairs every time there is a problem confronting the continent.

There are those, for example, who have argued that the African Command (AFRICOM) can serve as an alternative to the African Standby Force.  

This is a very unfortunate display of the neo-colonial attitudes that hold back progress in Africa.

It would be far better for the continent to have its own troops, who would serve to advance its own strategic interests and not those of foreign countries.

It is extremely unfortunate that there are African countries which have offered to host Africom, in defiance of an African Union, which has specifically stated that the SF is the best means by which the continent can have troops to help in times of crisis and possibly to serve as a deterrent to trouble makers such as the terrorists of the al- Shabaab.  

The African heads of state meeting in Kampala next week should reiterate their position on this and insist that the other countries on the continent should respect this commitment in the spirit of African unity.

It is not a coincident that any of these nations are in West Africa, which is near a vital transport corridor for oil and is also home to many oil-producing nations, including the latest member of that family, Ghana.

Is it a coincident that America prefers this region for its base?

It is abundantly clear that its motives are driven solely by self-interest.

The arguments in favour of an ASF are abundant.

According to a report for the Institute for Security Studies authored by Solomon Dersso, the ASF is intended to be a central mechanism in the AU institutional architecture that will allow it to respond to conflict on the continent.

A critical difference between the Organisation of African Unity and the AU is the fact the AU has the right to intervene in the internal affairs of members states.