I remember in the 1980s when TV was yet black and white a soap used to wrap up viewing between 10 pm and 11 pm. It was titled “Hammer’s House of Horror”. As the name suggests, it was a serial, always involving murders by murderers difficult to catch. The fear that gripped the viewer was made more gripping by the dark images of the killers. What connects it with what I am about to say? Nothing in particular, except that the objective of my subject matter is as slippery to achieve as are the murderers in “Hammer’s House of Horror” are to track down.
The Economic Community of West African States [ECOWAS] was founded, with the signing of its treaty on May 28 1975. Its main objective was the economic integration of the sub-region. To achieve this, movement of goods and persons was to be free; there would be a common currency and a bank like the AfDB. The 50th anniversary of Ecowas’s formation was marked in Nigeria May 28. The only surviving co-founder, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, shared the honours high table with President Bola Tinubu. Who would tell Ecowas’s story better than he and he did it as nicely as expected. He said Ecowas had implemented a number of policies and programmes, protocols and operations to stabilize some member nations such as Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau. It had also achieved trade liberalisation by introducing policies to reduce trade barriers and promoting intra-regional trade. This way it increased trade among member-states, “helping to promote economic growth and development.” However, Gowon lamented that the regional body still contended with “formidable challenges” such insecurity, terrorism, kidnapping and various kinds of “activity of man’s inhumanity to man”. Looking to the future, the former Head of State hoped that ECOWAS would continue to “grow in strength, unity, and purpose.” He concluded, “May the spirit of 1975 — of cooperation, of solidarity, and of hope — never be forgotten.”
But that 1975 spirit has vanished – long ago. Or perhaps, it never was there. Ecowas today exists only on paper, it must be said, with its many expected pillars never set up after these long 50 years. Diplomatically, Gowon and today’s Ecowas leaders are avoiding saying that the regional bloc has failed. The person who has come close to saying so is the resident representative of KAS, the German think tank that co-hosted the anniversary lecture, in Nigeria Marija Peran. She said in her welcome remarks that while people celebrated Ecowas’s milestones, “we must also confront the challenges that persist”. “Economic asymmetry between nations threatens the principles of equitable growth. The elusive dream of a single currency remains hampered by structural hurdles. Political instability and unconstitutional changes of government continue to test the democratic fabric of Ecowas. And perhaps most pressing, the scourge of insecurity—terrorism, insurgency, and transnational crimes—casts a long shadow over our collective progress. In this defining moment, let us invoke the spirit of the founding fathers — not merely in reverence but in renewed purpose. The next fifty years should be defined by deeper economic integration, reinforced political cohesion, and an unwavering commitment to security and prosperity for every West African citizen.”
Did the “founding fathers” play Joseph the dreamer without recognizing or seeing the mountain of challenges that loomed ahead? One, communication. There were 15 countries that became Ecowas members in 1975, all emerging from different colonial backgrounds – French, British and Portuguese. They came to the table, clinging to this baggage. Ecowas, when it was formed, was a “Tower of Babel”, a house of confusion which years later would become a community in commotion. Why is it still difficult for Ecowas to have a common currency? Simple. No one wants to give up their currency. The French-speaking members in particular. They are reluctant to do away with the CFA, a relic of French colonialism. In this, they preceded Britain that refused to accept the European Union currency, euro. Its own is ultranationalism. Ours is downright unwise marriage to the past.
What more, the three successful military takeovers in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in the last three years further exposed Ecowas a wet duck, a condition that isn’t natural because ducks are made not to get wet at all. We are saying here that Ecowas has lost all those things that should make it vibrant and kicking. When those three countries’s militaries kicked democratic rule out of the way, Ecowas’s threat of military intervention sounded hollow and weak. The coupists knew this and bucked the threat. Ecowas was forced to eat its word. Today, the soldiers are still in power in the three countries. And the three have exited Ecowas and formed an Alliance of States of the Sahel. As if to play up Ecowas’s toothlessness, Gowon, of all people, has suggested Ecowas change its name to Economic Community of West African States and the Sahel to bring back the renegades. What makes him believe they will come back in? They wouldn’t have have broken off if they believed there was something to gain from Ecowas membership. Their breakaway is a new nail in the coffin. The coffin must go down under earth anyway.
