The outbreak of the novel corona virus has thrown the entire world off-balance, with devastating effects on states’ economies and social lives. The virus, which started in Wuhan city of China, has spread to over 210 countries across the world, with over 19million confirmed cases and over 710,000 death tolls (Worldometer, 2020).

Since the outbreak of this pandemic earlier this year, the overall political-economic configuration of the international system has been disrupted, with nations incurring significant economic losses and policymakers making hard-line political decisions. US recorded 32.9% GDP contraction in Q2 and over 40 million job loss (Washington Post, 2020). Also, China recorded a historic 6.8% decrease in its GDP for Q1 in 2020, which is the worst economic contraction it has recorded since 1992 (The Guardian, 2020).

More evidently, the pandemic is changing the foreign policy priorities of states, with many political leaders prioritising the welfare of their citizens and national economic survival, rather than a commitment to international stability. This is evident in President Trump’s withdrawal from WHO and China’s continual closure of its borders despite its commitment to the free movement of persons and goods.

In Africa, specifically, there are palpable fears of a more severe implication. A recent report by McKinsey (Jarayam, et al., 2020) revealed that African countries would likely suffer a 3% – 8% decrease in their GDPs due to COVID-19. Africa’s economy, which is expected to rise by 3.2% in 2020, is now expected to contract by -0.8% (Delloite, 2020). Beyond economic implications, African countries are currently experiencing an increasing spate of social vices, food insecurity, the resurgence of violent conflicts, among others.

As a regional body, the African Union (AU) is yet to make a significant impact in alleviating the ugly situation the pandemic has caused the continent. Instead, we have seen scores of Africa countries falling back to their traditional means of survival – loans and aids from developed countries. Sadly, several AU’s initiatives – AfCFTA, #SilencingTheGun – are either moribund or put on hold indefinitely, crippling the age-long efforts to achieve the ‘Africa we want’.

Insecurity has deepened into the fabrics of the continent, ranging from terrorism to banditry, from the proliferation of SALW to communal clashes, among others. With all these challenges, African leaders, regional and sub-regional bodies are yet to find sizeable solutions to these challenges, putting Africans in a vulnerable situation.

In this episode of African Security Talk,  we discussed the triangular relations among regionalism, security and development in the post-COVID-19 Africa. While it is impossible to explore these three concepts exhaustively, we attempt to analyse them considering the African reality.

In this episode, I was opportune to have two vibrant scholars, Monsuru Olaitan Rasaq and Jesutimilehin O. Akamo on the show, as they shared they insights on this issue.