Fifty years after the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was established to promote regional integration, foster stable economic growth and entrench good governance, the region is yoked with poverty, insecurity and still in the grips of former colonial imperialists, BRIDGET CHIEDU ONOCHIE reports.

Precisely 50 years ago, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was founded based on three basic principles – to serve as an economic union with the capacity to raise the living standards of its peoples, maintain and enhance economic stability, and to foster integration among member-states.

Five decades later, from being a focused, courageous and united bloc, it has capitulated to a sub-region that is almost comatose by bad governance at the national level, poverty, insecurity, policy inconsistency and the like.

Worse still, some of its members appear incapable of extricating themselves from the vice-like grip of manipulative foreign powers.
Unfortunately, rather than unite towards pursuing the common goal of tackling its numerous challenges, ECOWAS is celebrating its 50th anniversary as a fragmented body, having lost three of its members – Mali, Niger and Burkina-Faso to a new bloc – Alliance of Sahel States, following its inability to effectively deploy existing treaties as instruments for dealing with military intruders.

With the exit of the three countries, ECOWAS is currently left with Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo and Cape Verde, which joined the bloc in 1977, two years after its establishment.

But looking backwards to the early years of the regional power bloc, one cannot but reminisce over a body that once stood against political rascality through collective economic, political and social forces.

The ECOWAS intervention force, popularly known as the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), which was founded in 1990 with its troops contributed by West African militaries, halted widespread carnage and created an atmosphere for subsequent healthy political dialogue.

In fact, since its establishment, ECOWAS has sent out peacekeeping forces seven times to troubled spots in the region. These were to Liberia in 1990, Ivory Coast in 2003, Guinea-Bissau in 2012, Mali in 2013, The Gambia in 2017, and Guinea-Bissau in 2022. All these were done with the belief that “what touches one, touches others.

It was therefore surprising that it could not muster the same military and diplomatic strength in dealing with situations in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso respectively when they reared their ugly heads.

Many people have also faulted the body for its inability to tenaciously implement some of its policies logically, especially economic integration and free movement of people and goods.

While the significant initiative of promoting economic integration among member-states through the establishment of a common currency (the Eco) and a regional trade liberalisation scheme was applauded, there are fears of apathy towards the policies.

For instance, 37 years after the initiative was initiated, the body has continued to foot-drag regarding the takeoff date of the Eco. This is in spite of the huge financial resources so far injected into the project, including $100 million seed funding for the establishment of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) Central Bank, which is expected to oversee the single currency.

There was also a budget of $1.5 billion approved for the implementation of Eco roadmap, which included the establishment of a common market, a customs union and a monetary union. Others include $32 million earmarked for the establishment of the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), a supposed precursor to the WAMZ Central Bank, and the $200 million set aside as a stabilisation fund to support member-states in case of economic shocks.

Unfortunately, the inability of member states to meet the stipulated four convergence criteria – inflation rate, fiscal deficit, Central Bank financing and foreign exchange reserve, appear to have stalled the process, leaving it at the level of speculations with regards to take-off time as domestication and compliance with the criteria has not been on a sustainable basis among member-states. This did not lead to shifts in the project launch dates, and it also left the 2027 take-off date hanging in the balance.

Meanwhile, the implementation of the protocol on trade liberalisation and free movement of people cannot be described as efficient due to citizens’ lack of awareness of the provisions of the policies.

The Director of Free Movement of Persons and Migration, ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Albert Siaw-Boateng, regretted that ECOWAS citizens could not draw a line between free movement and the need for valid travel documents within the region. According to him, while movement remained free, it behoves ECOWAS citizens to travel with valid means of identification, which include either an ECOWAS Passport or their national identity cards. This is to distinguish citizens from strangers, particularly those who want to take advantage of the free movement to breach security.

“Unfortunately, a majority of travellers, including drivers across the corridors and traders, are ignorant of this provision. So, when they are stopped from crossing the border, they take it as a poor implementation of the protocol on free movement.”

The same applies to trade liberalisation. While the agreement on trade covers goods produced within the region, many people engage the corridor in the smuggling of banned foreign goods, creating loopholes for alleged extortion by security agents manning the corridors.

A Port Harcourt-based lawyer, Festus Ogwuche, scored the regional body low for undermining the power of the Community Court of Justice (CCJ), which it set up in 1991 as its key legal organ.

Among other things, the court’s mandate was to resolve disputes related to its treaty, protocols, and conventions, especially with regards to human rights violations, to ensure enforcement of law, as well as promote a stable legal environment within the region, but its decisions are seldom honoured by the same Authority of Heads of States and Government that funds it.

Saddened by the development, Oguche noted that human rights indices reported by some prominent international human rights bodies such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Civil Liberties Organisation, on the West African sub-region have not been exciting.

“The idea of creating a human rights court is beautiful, but to what extent would you say that the court is properly and well enabled to function in that capacity? And that essentially explains why we have a situation where the human rights records continue to decline.”

Ogwuche particularly accused the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, for flipping every decision made by the regional court, just as he pointed out that the position of the regional authority that citizens can only access the court after exhausting local remedies, reduces the jurisdiction of the community court.

“The court was set up to address the human rights violation in the region. So, the structure should be left the way it was originally. It is not the court of the member-states but that of the citizens.”

In his assessment of the 50 years of ECOWAS, a lawyer and public affairs analyst, Mr. Frank Tietie, described the period as five decades of huge disappointment, playing to the gallery and motion without movement, noting that the body failed in securing citizens’ lives and property, economic integration and human rights protection.

Using the Community Court as an example, Tietie said the regional body failed by not enforcing its court’s judgments. “So, it only has a facade of institutional strength,” he said.

To him, the failure to enforce the judgment of the court does not imply the failure of the court, but that of the institutional framework upon which ECOWAS was built.

“So, the Authority of Heads of State and Government, which is the highest body, failed to bring out a proper mechanism for the enforcement of judgments. Therefore, judgments are at the mercy of the various member states. That makes it a joke,” the legal practitioner stated.

Tietie also scored the region low in the area of economic integration on the ground that it is even easier to do business across the Atlantic than with member countries due to protectionist measures by some countries against the inflow of business.

He said: “The original motive for the union has suffered, but where the ECOWAS arrangement is failing the most is in the area of security. The union failed to enhance security like NATO is doing.”
Tietie further blamed the exit of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso on frustration, stressing that it was the failure of the bloc that necessitated their exit.

Mr Paul Ejime, another public affairs analyst, described ECOWAS in the past 50 years as a mixed bag, having recorded some notable achievements and some failings.

“But since one does not live on past glory, it is expected to even maintain a good record of performance, if not exceed the existing standard.”
Ejime said that ECOWAS was more proactive 20 years ago, when it fought and settled many civil wars and forestalled needless bloodshed in the region.

“Unfortunately, peace and security have become a major challenge in the region as terrorism, violent extremism and armed insurrection threaten people’s lives while ECOMOG appear to have been replaced by external influence,” Ejime said, adding: “Following the killing of former Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, the Sahel became an epicentre for all terrorist groups from where they launch attacks on ECOWAS countries. Yet, the leadership has not been able to muster the courage to advise itself.”

“For instance, former French colonies – Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, criticised France but embraced Russia and China. But for me, you cannot remove a chain from your leg and then put it on your neck and think that you are free. No, you are still chained”.

“But generally, while the balance sheet looks grim, ECOWAS should be proud of some of its achievements, such as free movement, free trade, visa liberalisation, agricultural policies, gas pipeline and infrastructure.

“It has roads – corridors running through all the states. The fact that ECOWAS still exists, and citizens still travel to countries other than their own without a visa, is a plus. But to whom much is given, much is also required.”

The National President, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), Emmanuel Onwubiko, believes that ECOWAS has not lived up to the expectations of its founding fathers, which include the actualisation of a common monetary policy and seamless movement of people and goods.
“But the most frustrating aspect of the entire spectacle is the failure of the current leadership to enforce the relevant provisions of the ECOWAS treaty, when some member-states experienced military coups.

“The inability to manage the situation properly led to the disintegration of ECOWAS. We no longer have the proper body as some members have exited from the union. That tells you that not much has been achieved in the last 50 years,” he said.

The Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on ECOWAS Matters, Mrs Linda Akhigbe, said the regional body has done well in several areas.
In showering encomiums on the body for its achievements, she said the period under review represents five decades of progress, unity and resilience.

According to her, nothing is worth celebrating than ECOWAS’ role in ensuring peace and security in the region, including ensuring that the will of The Gambians prevailed in 2016, during the country’s political turmoil.

“The reactivation of a standby force is incredibly important as it was poised to combat extreme violence and cross-border crimes. The plan to mobilise 500 troops and other resources to fight terrorism, which has been a huge challenge, is a plus to ECOWAS.

“Furthermore, the issue of free movement is taken for granted in the region. This doesn’t happen in other parts of the continent. And this has made ECOWAS the most integrated part of Africa. The recent visit of the ECOWAS leadership to the Seme Border was to ensure efficient enforcement of the free movement of people and goods. It is something that is taken seriously by the region.”

The presidential aide added that the regional body has embarked on several electricity generation projects across the region, including those of The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Mali through the regional electricity access project.

“Similarly, electricity interconnection has been established with all member-States. The West African Power Pool is an ingenious project where member-States can buy and sell electricity within the region. This will address the power challenge within the region. It is a key area that
ECOWAS has done well,” she said.

Like Tietie, Solomon Okedara, a digital rights lawyer, legal researcher and consultant, also expressed worries over the non-enforcement of the ECOWAS Community Court’s decision.

For the community citizens and residents to be guaranteed their human rights protection, Okedara called on the stakeholders to ensure that disobedience to the court’s judgments becomes a thing of the past.He commended the court for demonstrating courage, creative judicial reasoning and requisite impartiality required of a bench of its standing.

“The recent judgment in the case of Incorporated Trustees of Expression Now Human Rights Initiative V the Federal Republic of Nigeria, where the court, in an unprecedented manner, declared blasphemy laws as violations of freedom of expression and ordered their repeal, is a clear attestation to the court growing into the stature of a reliable protector of rights for the people,” he said.