The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is
meeting in Accra, Ghana’s capital, to discuss the withdrawals of Mali, Niger
Republic, and Burkina Faso from the bloc.
A statement issued Tuesday said the discussions will last
two days — including Wednesday.
ECOWAS said key items on the agenda would include
discussions on the modalities of the countries’ withdrawal and the potential
implications for the bloc’s institutions operating within those states.
“The bloc will also address other related matters of
regional importance,” it added.
The meeting coincides with ECOWAS golden jubilee
celebrations in Accra.
Established on May 28, 1975, in Lagos, ECOWAS was created to
promote economic integration and cooperation among West African countries.
Its founding members aimed to create a single, large trading
bloc that would foster collective self-sufficiency, enhance development, and
improve living standards across the region.
However, the bloc began to crack notably in 2020 when a
series of military coups swept through member states undermining the its
cohesion and democratic principles.
The critical turning point came with coups in Mali (2020 and
2021), Burkina Faso (2022), and Niger Republic (2023), which led to these
countries being suspended and subjected to sanctions due to their military
takeovers and deferral of democratic elections.
The situation escalated when, in July 2024, the military juntas of Niger, Mali, and
Burkina Faso announced their decision to irrevocably turn their backs ECOWAS.
They accused ECOWAS of imposing “inhumane and irresponsible”
sanctions and failing to address their internal security crises.
This unprecedented move marked the first time in ECOWAS’s
history that member states sought to leave the organisation.
After nearly a year of mediation efforts to prevent
disintegration with little success, ECOWAS officially approved an exit timeline
for these three coup-hit nations spanning January to July this year.
The countries have since formed a new regional bloc called
the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and have imposed a levy on ECOWAS member
states, disrupting the free trade that the region enjoyed and escalating
tensions.
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Why should ECOWAS meetings still be focused on the exit of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic from the regional alliance. These countries have repeatedly refused to re-engage with or come back to ECoWAS. They have already formed a confederation which means that they will not come back into an alliance that is piloted by western countries with policies that are not favourable to Africa. They impose economic roadmaps on our African Heads Of States and Government, and they are not allowed to give their own joint proposals concerning African affairs and sovereignty. Since these countries left ECOWAS, their respective countries have recorded significant progress and development in many areas which have never happened since independence in the sixties. Presently, most western countries find themselves in a difficult economic situation making them indebted to International Monetary Fund, whereas, they assumed that Africans countries were the most indebted countries in the world and also the poorest in the world, but we have seen that Africa holds the world prosperity in their own hands and not the western world. They all want to come back and control African resources as they used to do, but some African countries have refused to accept that they come back to exploit their resources without paying the right price for them. The west is pressuring ECOWAS heads of states and governments to continue the demand for the reinstatement of the three newly confederated states and this is not going to be possible because the masses are satisfied with what the military Heads of States in these three countries have achieved so far in less than two years, whereas successive governments failed to achieve one percent of what the military had achieved.
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