General Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria’s former Head of State and the only surviving member among the group of founding Heads of State of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has appealed to the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS to end the sanctions imposed on Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, following military takeovers in the countries.
Gowon also called to reunite the three countries with the regional body, expressing “deep concern and sadness over their decision to exit the organisation’s membership.
The three countries last month announced that they were pulling out of the bloc following their objections to punitive sanctions imposed on them by ECOWAS following coups d’état against their democratically elected governments.
Gowon’s appeal was contained in a letter addressed to the Heads of State and Government of the region, which he read during a press conference in Abuja yesterday, and was sent through the ECOWAS Commission.
Widely seen as West Africa’s top political and regional authority, the 15-nation bloc of ECOWAS – established in 1975 to promote economic integration among member states – has struggled in recent years to reverse a spate of military takeovers in the region.
The sanctions imposed by the organisation included the closure of all borders with Niger, restrictions on travel for officials of the Malian government, suspension of the three states from ECOWAS, suspension of financial transactions, and freezing of Niger’s assets in external banks. These steps, considered punitive and illegitimate by the military leaderships in the three Sahel states and Guinea, led to the decision of the three Sahel states to announce their exit from the regional body.
Gowon urged the West African leaders to lift the sanctions imposed on Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and Niger in order to resolve the problems amicably.
Speaking on the need to keep the regional body together, he noted that, “Since its inception, the regional bloc has made a number of major accomplishments, including trade liberalisation, right of West Africans to live legitimately in any country within the Community, as well as successful peacekeeping operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone. ECOWAS, despite its shortcomings, has become an example of regional integration for the wider continent.”
Gowon expressed concern that Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger gave notice to ECOWAS about their intention to quit the community stressing that this move has severe implications for the citizens of the sub-region.
He said, “It saddens me to learn that ECOWAS is threatened with disunity following the announcement by Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, three important Member States, of their intention to leave the Community.
“The impact of such a decision will have far-reaching implications for the ordinary citizens who have been the major beneficiaries of regional integration.”
Gowon called on the ECOWAS authorities to immediately consider the implementation of the “lifting of all sanctions that have been imposed on Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger.”
Appealing to the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, including leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, to let peace and stability prevail in the region, he said “on behalf of all the founding fathers of the Community and myself, I urge the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, including the leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, to put aside their differences and reunite for the peace, stability, and prosperity of our sub-region.”
Along with his appeal for the lifting of sanctions, Gowon also called on all West African leaders to immediately consider the implementation of the following: “withdrawal by Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger of their notices to leave ECOWAS; and participation of all 15 ECOWAS Heads of State in a Summit to discuss the future of the community, regional security and stability, as well as the role of the international community given the current geopolitical context.”
The call for a discussion of the role of the international community in the context of current geopolitical realities appears to align with calls by regional political analysts who insist that the influence of external forces goes against one of the main objectives of ECOWAS founding fathers, which was to break away from such. In fact, part of the claims made by the military leaderships, especially in Burkina Faso and Niger, was that the regional body’s decision on the imposition of sanctions was to serve the interests of France.
There were obvious indications that France mounted immense pressure on some of the leaders of Francophone states in the region to tighten the noose on the military leaders. However, it was also obvious that fear of a spread of military takeovers in their respective states largely informed the steps taken by regional leaders.
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