It is to be noted that the three heads of States of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have decided to set a common platform for unity, cooperation, concerted fight against terrorism and economic development in the Sahel region.
The said Summit, effectively strengthened a subregional organization called the Alliance of Sahelian States (AES). The Alliance have now said goodbye to colonialism and to ECOWAS. Chey Aduna, ECOWAS AMNA METIT. The colonial strategy of divide and conquer has woefully failed in the Sahel region.
The regional block ECOWAS is now in integration crisis. Hence the recent summit to reflect on the state of affairs. Nigeria being the host country of ECOWAS, must now flex her diplomatic muscles and influence to keep the remaining organization together. Nobody knows where the wind of change will be blowing next in the region. It is therefore, politically prudent for ECOWAS to refocus on issues of concern to community citizens and to tackle them head on with all the political will and commitment in the best interest of the regional block. These issues include bad governance, term limits, electoral frauds, terrorism, corruption, external interferences in state matters, etc. among others.
These are factors which tend to lead to the fragility of the democratic system in many of the member countries of ECOWAS. It must be stated that ECOWAS has been observed to be gravitating towards a club of Presidents protecting each other’s interests instead of dealing with the collective issues and concerns of the people.
Addressing the root causes of the tensions within the community would have been the right way to guide ECOWAS towards a more progressive resolutions to the debates. Internal contradictions in member countries which tend to lead to conflict, are often ignored by the decision-making body. In the event of military and civilian upheavals emergency meetings are sanctioned to talk about the effects of such crisis. The current Chair of ECOWAS is now calling for resource mobilization and joint efforts to fight terrorism. The block is contemplating sending troops to Sierra Leone.
The block is extremely worried about the exit of the three Sahelian countries. There are talks of ECOWAS Standby Force. It takes consistency and strong political will in policy decisions to move the regional block forward. It is incomprehensible that for fifty years of existence, ECOWAS lacks a single currency. There is no regional airline under ECOWAS. There is no West African rail service and Trans West African highway.
There is no West African shipping line. ECOWAS has a lot of work ahead before it can transform the region into an economic power house and a truly integrated community. For the Alliance of Sahelian States, its sustainability will be a challenge of the first magnitude. It is a military creation rather than a people’s creation. It has not been subjected to a referendum for the citizens of the three countries to vote on the proposal to unify the countries of the Sahel region.
It is hoped that AES will not be a spring board to further ECOWAS DISINTEGRATION. To put ECOWAS on the road to prosperity is in the hands of its political leadership. There is no deadline for the socioeconomic take off and advancement of the ECOWAS region.
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