THREE MILITARY-RUN STATES LEAVE WEST AFRICAN BLOC – WHAT WILL CHANGE?
Three countries under military rule have officially left West African regional bloc Ecowas (Economic Community of West African States), after more than a year of diplomatic tensions.
The withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger is a huge blow to Ecowas, which at 50 years old is considered Africa’s most important regional group.
The split was sparked after the three departing countries refused Ecowas demands to restore diplomatic rule.
On Wednesday, Ecowas said it would keep its “doors open” to Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, even though they have forged ahead with their own bloc, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES by its French acronym).
Prior to Wednesday’s shake-up, the bloc had 15 members, including states like Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Senegal.
Citizens of all Ecowas countries currently have the right to live and work in all member states, while goods can circulate freely.
Relations between Ecowas and the three Sahel countries have been tense since the military seized power in Niger in 2023, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Mali in 2020.
After the Niger coup, Ecowas imposed crippling sanctions on the country, such as border closures, a no-fly zone for all commercial flights and the freezing of central bank assets.
Ecowas also threatened to deploy its forces to Niger in order to restore democratic rule.
But this hard line merely strengthened the resolve of the three juntas.
Mali and Burkina Faso criticised Ecowas’ “inhuman” sanctions and vowed to defend Niger if the bloc intervened militarily.
After being suspended by Ecowas, the three states hit back by giving notice last January that they would withdraw in a year, meeting the timeline set by the bloc for states that decide to leave.
Negotiations between Ecowas and the juntas have taken place since then – but have failed.
The three countries accuse Ecowas of being too close to Western powers and have instead pivoted towards Russia.
According to the departing countries, they will now experience greater sovereignty and also independence from a force that has a foreign agenda.
But analysts say Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso may struggle outside the bloc – these are poor and landlocked countries whose economies depend on their West African neighbours.
While Ecowas works out the terms of its future relationship with the three countries, it says it will continue to recognise all passports and identity cards bearing the Ecowas logo held by citizens from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
The countries will also remain in the bloc’s free-trade scheme.
Similarly, AES chairman, Mali’s military ruler Assimi Goïta, said last January that the right of Ecowas citizens to “enter, circulate, reside, establish and leave the territory” of the new bloc would be maintained.
Ilyasu Gadu, an international affairs expert and media consultant based in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, told the BBC: “The three junta leaders have taken steps to say: ‘Yes, we are pulling out of Ecowas but we want to maintain our relationships. We will not close our borders’ because they must have realised that if they do that, they would have shot themselves in the foot.” [BBC News]
