A three-day International Conference under the theme: "The Military Question in West Africa; options for Constitutional and democratic control," opened in Accra on Thursday, blaming the military as the "principal source of instability and the bane of Africa's under development".

"The assumption of political power by the military by violently overthrowing constitutionally elected governments for the past three and half decades has contributed tremendously to the slow pace of development on the continent," General Emmanuel Erskine (Rtd), the First UN Commander of UNIFIL has said.

Gen. Erskine, who is also the Patron of Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA), organisers of the conference said, however, that contemporary political developments indicates that the era of the military exercising political power, which is a major component of militarism is "grudgingly receding".

He said inordinate ambition of military officers, the element of adventurism, influence of politicians and external governments, and perceived mismanagement by incumbent civilian administrations as major motivating factors for military to assume political power in the past. He said coup makers always have their good reasons for overthrowing governments, "consequently, there is the need to establish confidence-building state institutions as channels of communications."

He said the institutions if properly exploited and utilized could help neutralise some of the motivations for military take-over of constitutionally and democratically elected civilian governments.

The former UNIFIL Commander suggested the establishment of a National Security Council, which should be the highest body responsible for safe guarding the internal and external security of the state and to be chaired by the Head of Government with the Chief of Defence and National Security agencies as members.

The Defence/Armed Forces Council responsible for all matter relating to the effective functioning of Armed Forces and should be chaired by Head of Government with the Chief of the Armed Forces as a member and also a Police Council.

Gen. Erskine said the various regions, provinces or district should also establish Security Executive Committees responsible for security related matters in the areas of governmental administration. Through these institutions, issues that affect the effective and efficient functioning of the security agencies should be brought to the attention of the executive and legislative arms of government for necessary action and directives.

Mrs Afi Yakubu, Associate Executive Director of FOSDA said a new era of Democratic Constitutional Rule have engulfed the West African sub-region, which should be protected by civil society.

She said, "this new dispensation, can only be protected and nurtured for posterity if we collectively ensure that civilians understand the military and through transparency and dialoguing." She said, "through the ballot box and improvement of the oversight functions of parliamentarians, democracy and the rule of law will certainly eclipse adhoc military dictatorships."

Mrs Yakubu said currently only Senegal and Cape Verde have never experience military take-over, Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Sierra Leone have experienced four or more while Mauritania, Mali, Togo, Guinea, Liberia and Cote D'Ivoire have had less than four.

The Conference is the culmination of a two-year research project funded by the Ford Foundation on the pertinent issue of the role of the military in politics in West Africa and the development of modalities to constitutionally and democratically control it.

Academics, political activists, leaders of civil society organisations, and diplomats are attending the Accra conference.