MONROVIA — Lofa County Sen. Momo Tarnuekollie Cyrus told visiting West African military officers Wednesday that regional governments must pool intelligence, run coordinated border operations, and turn security pledges into action. He said no country in the region can contain cross-border threats alone.
Cyrus chairs the Senate Committee on National Defense, Intelligence, Security and Veteran Affairs. He spoke at the Gabriel L. Dennis Foreign Service Institute in Monrovia to a delegation of 75 senior officers, staff and students from Nigeria’s Armed Forces Command and Staff College, along with participants from Sierra Leone and Ghana.
“Our borders may define our national jurisdictions, but our shared commitment to peace, human dignity, and prosperity must define the future of West Africa,” Cyrus said.
His presentation was titled “Beyond Borders: Building a Shared Security Future for West Africa.” In it, Cyrus said regional cooperation must move beyond diplomatic declarations to measurable steps that protect citizens and economic activity. He named five priorities: intelligence sharing and early-warning systems, integrated border management, maritime security cooperation, legislative oversight, and investment in conflict prevention.
He said shared intelligence would let security agencies identify threats before they escalate. He said coordinated border management would strengthen neighboring countries’ ability to tackle illegal cross-border activity. In the Gulf of Guinea, he called for closer collaboration among coastal states to protect maritime resources, improve surveillance and coordinate responses, saying threats at sea could undermine trade and regional stability.
Cyrus said parliaments across the region must hold security agencies to their legal mandates and to respect for citizens’ rights. He said such oversight builds public confidence in security institutions.
He also said security cannot be sustained without addressing youth unemployment, environmental pressures and other conditions that feed instability. He urged West African leaders to invest in jobs for young people and in community-based conflict prevention.
Cyrus pointed to Liberia’s civil war and recovery as evidence that prevention costs far less than restoring peace and rebuilding institutions after conflict.
He called for regional agreements under the Economic Community of West African States to become practical interventions. He also called for closer cooperation among militaries, police, diplomats, legislators and border communities. He said border-area residents feel the effects of cross-border threats first and should be treated as partners in early warning and conflict prevention.
“Military strength alone,” he said, cannot guarantee lasting peace without accountable governance, respect for human rights and economic opportunity, particularly for young people.
The address was part of the Nigerian delegation’s study tour of Liberia. The tour ran under the theme “Strengthening Cross-Border Engagement for Enhanced Regional Integration and Security” and examined Liberia’s security experience and post-war recovery.
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