NEARLY five decades into its existence, the ECOWAS socioeconomic super-structure that was constructed in 1975 to foster regional peace is crumbling fast. The trio of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Republic raised a few eyebrows at the weekend at their meeting in Niamey when they said their withdrawal from ECOWAS was irrevocable. This shook the 15-member organisation to its foundations.
The division began in 2020 with a series of military coups d’état in the three countries. The military takeover in Mali in 2020 was followed by the January 2022 putsch in Burkina Faso. This culminated in the July takeover in Niger. The military, led by Abdourahmane Tchiani, deposed President Mohammed Bazoum in July 2023.
The reaction of ECOWAS was swift with the aim to prevent a return to an era of military dictatorship in the region. This coincided with the election of Bola Tinubu as the President of Nigeria. Upon assuming the chairmanship of ECOWAS, Tinubu made a series of interventions. ECOWAS told the military dictators to relinquish their posts or face military intervention. ECOWAS also applied sanctions on the countries.
Instead of obeying, the juntas resisted. This caused a face-off between the two parties. At the minimum, the juntas promised to restore democratic rule at their own pace. This did not go down well with ECOWAS.
Later, the body removed some of the sanctions. This was after Niger placed a no-fly zone on some countries, including Nigeria. The matter degenerated, that in January, the juntas promised never to return to the fold.
Nigeria, which is aligned with the move to invade Niger, has its problems. It has been plagued by Islamic terrorism since 2009. Banditry ensued in the North-West and North-Central. In the South-East, IPOB separatists are on the rampage while oil militants rule the roost in the South-South. Consequently, the military is engaged in internal security duties in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
For the juntas, ECOWAS was not helping their cause, as they deemed it pro-West. They firmly believe that France and other Western countries are exploiting them. The countries are poor and believe the West is exploiting their natural resources. Niger expelled French troops. American troops suffered the same fate despite that the forces were stationed to curtail the incursion of al-Qaeda militants.
In retaliation, after their meeting in Niamey on July 7, the juntas formed a new bloc – the Alliance of Sahel States. The mission of AES is the free movement of goods and people in the bloc, and to create a stabilisation fund and investment fund to stop their dependence on the IMF and World Bank.
ECOWAS thus entered a crisis mode. At its meeting in Abuja on July 7, where Tinubu won a second term as chairman, it appointed Senegal President Bassirou Faye, to mediate with the juntas to bring them back. This is a difficult assignment.
The bloc is rich in gold, uranium, lithium, and diamonds. The UNDP said the region “is one of the world’s highest solar production capacities – 13.9 billion kWh-y compared to 20 billion kWh/y.” The World Economic Forum believes the bloc is viable. It said the trio can earn billions of dollars from the export of health foods produced in the Great Green Wall from Senegal to Ethiopia.
Political pundits argue that though military rule is an anathema, the citizens align with the juntas because of hardship. The juntas have youth on their side. Assim GuÏta of Mali was born in 1983 and Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso was born in 1988.
Despite these issues, ECOWAS should try all within its power to bring the juntas back to fulfil the dream of the founding fathers.