African military leaders are very preoccupied by the proliferation of foreign military bases on the continent. The worries were raised in Kigali during an ongoing meeting of the East African Standby Force (EASF), one of the five regional forces for Peace Support Operations of the African Standby Force. Nearly every superpower has a foothold on the Horn of Africa, especially Djibouti. Some are there to protect the maritime route while others are there for strategic military reasons. France is known to have bases in nearly all its formers colonies in West and Central Africa while the British have had training bases in Kenya for many decades, and were sometimes cause for conflicts. Some countries who host foreign militaries do so for financial and security lessons, so it will be difficult to convince them otherwise, especially former French colonies who see their formers master’s presence as a consoling first line of defence. The military top brass could be correct in raising concerns, but how ready is Africa when it comes to maintaining peace and security on its own? Boku Haram, Al Shabab and other Islamic extremists in North and West Africa have given the continent a headache for a long time without the standby force coming up with effective solutions. The other questionable part is the Peace Fund: If ten members of EASF have only managed to raise less than $2 million, how will it be able to take on more complex challenges that need financial means? For peace to be maintained in Africa the continent needs to talk less and show more action and commitment, otherwise African Union’s target to silence guns on the continent by 2020 will continue to be a pipedream.
