As insecurity intensifies in the Sahel, former Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio is sounding the alarm. Faced with what he describes as a "project for a regional Islamic caliphate" currently being consolidated, he calls for a broader, structured, and coordinated response across the continent.

According to him, Senegal can no longer consider itself as a mere observer, because the threat now directly affects its stability.

In a recent public statement, Mr. Gadio emphasized that the actions of jihadist groups are no longer limited to known areas of Mali, Burkina Faso, or Niger, but are tending to extend to neighboring states. Senegal, although so far spared major attacks, finds itself in the immediate orbit of this growing instability.

The former head of Senegalese diplomacy is calling for enhanced cooperation that would include not only the G5 Sahel countries, but also Mauritania, Morocco, Chad, and coastal states such as Senegal, Ivory Coast, and Benin.

The approach he advocates goes beyond a purely military response. Cheikh Tidiane Gadio emphasizes the need for a comprehensive strategy combining intelligence, development, education, and deradicalization. He also warns of the urgent need for a political awakening, emphasizing that divisions between states and diplomatic ruptures, particularly within ECOWAS, weaken collective capacities to contain the phenomenon.

Indeed, for him, without continental coordination, the expansion of armed groups risks crossing a critical threshold, endangering the stability of the whole of West Africa.