Niger's General Abdourahamane Tiani, right, with Burkinabe counterpart Captain Ibrahim Traore in Niamey to attend the inaugural summit of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Ecowas expressed disappointment about the withdrawal by Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. The head of the Ecowas commission, Omar Alieu Touray, warned that “the region is facing the risk of disintegration”,the writer says. – Picture: X (Formerly twitter)
By Kim Heller
This past weekend saw two significant summits take place in the Sahel. On Saturday, the inaugural summit of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) was held in Niger. Its three member countries, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, signed a confederation treaty, ushering in a brand-new trajectory for the Sahel triad.
The summit cemented the bold stride that the Alliance had made in January to withdraw from the Economic Community of West African states (Ecowas). The leader of Niger, General Abdourahamane Tiani, stated, “Our peoples have irrevocably turned their backs on Ecowas.”
The definitive shift exit from Ecowas is part of the Alliances’ broader spurn of colonial and foreign power and influence. It is this sentiment that has enforced the recent exodus of both France and US from these three countries.
General Abdourahamane Tiani described the new confederation, made up of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali as a “community far removed from the stranglehold of foreign powers”.
Integral to the new confederation will be the strengthening of the defence pact developed in September 2003, which obliges each nation to support any other, including militarily, in the event of any internal or external threat.
The Kampala Post notes that the new confederation, with it 2,782,438 square kilometres, will be the largest country in Africa, “bigger than Algeria and the 8th largest in the world, slightly bigger than Argentina”. The confederation’s total population will be approximately 72 million.
Just one day after this summit, Ecowas held its Sixty-Fifth Ordinary Session, in Nigeria. It was worlds apart from the AES Summit. Hopes of persuading the Alliance to reconsider their decision to exit Ecowas had been dashed on the eve of the session. Ecowas reasserted its commitment to the eradication of terrorism and other threats to the peace, security, and stability of the region.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who was re-elected as the president of the Ecowas bloc called for new and stronger partnerships to develop the region in the face of its “enormous challenges”. Terrorism has risen in spite of the intervention of Western forces. Ecowas expressed its aim to develop and activate a regional military force of 5000 to fight terrorism. The annual cost of such an exercise was estimated at close to $2.6 billion.
Ecowas expressed disappointment about the withdrawal by Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. The head of the Ecowas commission, Omar Alieu Touray, warned that “the region is facing the risk of disintegration”. This sentiment is shared by the Institute of Security Studies (ISS), which in June 2023 stated that the pending withdrawal from Ecowas would further weaken a region already struggling with transnational security threats and geopolitical challenges.
The ISS describes Ecowas as an important institution that must be safeguarded, and the Institute has stated that if the Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger’s exit goes ahead, it would “undermine the progress achieved by Ecowas throughout its 49-year history”.
The ISS credits Ecowas with playing a positive role in restoring security and democracy in West Africa, and helping to resolve civil wars in several countries, including Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia. The Institute points out that the free movement of people and goods which has been facilitated by Ecowas is “a major achievement that distinguishes West Africa from other regions on the continent”. With the exit of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali this could be jeopardised.
Ecowas’s Touray, said that by withdrawing from Ecowas, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali risked not only “political isolation”, but also the potential loss of millions of dollars in funding, and the hampering of freedom of movement of goods and people across the region. One of the geo-strategic risks with the exit of these countries from Ecowas, is that they are all land-locked countries and access to key trading sea-routes would be compromised.
Touray stated that Ecowas intends to pursue “more vigorous” reconciliation efforts with the three Alliance leaders. Senegal’s President Bassirou Faye has been mandated by Ecowas to negotiate with the AES.
Although Faye is well placed to drive these talks, given his ideological orientation, and standing, he is unlikely to shift the strong sentiments of the Alliance leaders on Ecowas. Burkina Faso’s leader Capt. Ibrahim Traoré, has expressed that it would be difficult for the Alliance to rejoin Ecowas because of different ideologies regarding the sovereignty of states.
In their June 2024 outlook and analysis of the conflict between AES and Ecowas, the ISS’s Issaka K Souare and Paulin Maurice Toupane reduce the decision of the Alliance to withdraw from Ecowas as a strategy to evade the regional bloc’s requirement for short transitions and return to civilian rule. All three leaders of the Alliance had come into power through military coups.
But it is more complex than that. The Alliance leaders have serious grievances with Ecowas. Understandably there is also still bitterness towards Ecowas for its imposition of sanctions on Mali and Niger which AES describe as “illegal, illegitimate, inhuman, and irresponsible”.
There is also a measure of anger over earlier threats of possible military intervention by Ecowas against Niger. Further to this, the Alliance leaders view Ecowas as a body controlled by foreign powers, particularly France.
The Alliance has also been very critical of Ecowas’s efforts to effectively fight terrorism. The criticism is echoed by the ISS which has expressed the view that Ecowas’s contribution to reducing the current cycle of insecurity has been limited.
Niger’s leader Tiani said at this weekend’s Summit that the AES is the only effective sub-regional grouping in the fight against terrorism, and accused Ecowas of being “conspicuous by its lack of involvement in this fight.”
Both summits take place at a time when terrorism, insurgency, and country instability have almost become permanent markers in the Sahel region, while poverty continues as an ugly stain on the region.
Harsh climate changes have added to the deepening crisis in the Sahel. Currently, close to 17 million people in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger need humanitarian assistance and protection. Displacement is on the rise due to conflict, climate, and penury.
Amidst all of this, the leaders of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali, who all came to power through military coups in the period from 2020 to 2023, are seeking a whole new world. A new world based on decolonising its relations with the West and pushing for self-sovereignty. Tiani spoke of the summit as “the culmination of our determined common will to reclaim our national sovereignty.”
Country sovereignty, the possibility of a common currency, and broad-based cooperation on developing strategic sectors of the economy including agriculture, transport and energy are all key pillars of mutual development.
It is an ambitious path, paved on the glimmers of Thomas Sankara’s noble fight against imperialism and his vision of self-sufficiency. But it is no easy road. The establishment of the confederation looks set to divide the Sahel and West Africa even further. It is time for Ecowas to listen more and threaten less.
* Kim Heller is a political analyst and author of ‘No White Lies: Black Politics and White Power in South Africa’.
** This article was written exclusively for The African. To republish, see terms and conditions.
*** The views expressed in this article are the writer’s and may not reflect the views of The African