He was quick to trumpet that Nigeria was back and that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) would no longer tolerate any coup d’Etat within it. But as soon as President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, who had just taken the head of ECOWAS, finished his lyrical flights of fancy with his traditional Agbada, made this declaration without warning, the soldiers of Niger followed suit in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso. By fomenting one of the most burlesque coups ever known in Africa. Like a toddler caught with his hand in a bag of candy without knowing how to get out, President Bola Tinubu found himself trapped by his own declarations. What to do ? ECOWAS will become entangled in threats, vacillations and procrastination, etc. And from lethargy, she passed into Coma.
In this West African mess, the Togo of President Faure Gnassingbé clearly plays the bad role. Under the pretext of playing good offices, he maintains relations both with the Military, authors of coups to Power and who challenge ECOWAS, even if it means standing out or dissociating himself from the decisions of ECOWAS. A stratagem which in reality hides a double economic and political interest for a President whose advent to Power recalls that there was, at the beginning in 2005, a double military and Constitutional coup d'Etat to clear his way.
Of ECOWAS, what is really left? This is a question that nationals of member countries of this sub-regional Organization are entitled to ask themselves. But before asking themselves, they should rather ask their leaders, Heads of State and Government of member countries. As everyone now knows the answer, it is therefore pointless and pointless to do so. The fact is that, to be honest, there is practically not much left, to say the least. Otherwise an Economic Community in tatters or in a thousand pieces. And this is just a pure euphemism to express a pictorial metaphor.
Indeed, each of the Heads of State or Government of the member countries having pulled out the shreds which seemed beneficial to him on his side even to the point that, from the shreds disputed by one and the other everything crumbled, it did not remains more than a vague idea of what was until recently considered the best sub-regional organization in Africa. This is what happens to any human community when Intelligence deserts the Forum and political fraud against a backdrop of contempt for the People is elevated to the rank of index value of political action in the same way as the CAC40 or the DOW JONES on the Stock Exchange.
Torn by the deceptions of their own actors of Presidents of the Republic, according to their interests for a Third term or a Constitutional Revision, they all ended up making fools of themselves. Including the Putschists who proclaim themselves Defenders of the People and Pan-Africanists before the Eternal and who very often accuse the heads of state and ECOWAS with lies inspired by their new Russian masters. A State cannot speak of Sovereignty by counting on Mercenaries, Russians in this case, instead of counting on its own Forces. All accountants, all guilty by the result they reached. A zombified ECOWAS, incapable of respecting its own decisions and even less of being respected, and above all incapable of offering a beneficial perspective to its Nationals. Which left the field free for dissident countries to create the Alliance of Sahel Countries (AES) on September 16, 2023.
Some would say that ECOWAS had already been in trouble for a long time. But from there to showing such errors and inconsistencies which have currently condemned it to the state of brain death in which the organization finds itself, one must bring together among the Heads of State and Government, Amateurs and Politicians without faith or ambitions.
If you look closely, ECOWAS no longer exists, de facto. Each State or let's say it, each Head of State does what it wants, without being accountable either to ECOWAS or to its People.
Colonel Assimi Goïta of Mali decided to extend and postpone the timetable for his Transition without even deigning to refer to ECOWAS, Captain Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso decided that elections will only take place in his country when he will deem it necessary, in light of the reduction in terrorist acts, General Abdourahamane Tchiani has decided not to leave Power; Algeria had threatened ECOWAS if it intervened militarily in Niger to restore President Mohamed Bazoum, Morocco invited the three dissident ECOWAS countries to turn to it rather than those with whom History and Geography link them all naturally...In short, ECOWAS has been humiliated on all sides...Both on the continental and international scene, it only arouses laughter when the acronym ECOWAS is mentioned in chancelleries and diplomatic circles. All things considered, its disintegration is also the reflection of a reality much more serious and profound than it appears: the bankruptcy of modern Black Africa through its States but also and above all its leaders and its organizations. Because the African Union (AU) is currently only the tree that hides the forest. A worm-eaten tree, which is worse, but which nevertheless hides the forest...
Even if ECOWAS desperately strives to keep up appearances through a few meetings, as if nothing had happened, its declarations only serve to enrich the Archives of its Permanent General Secretariat. The Nationals of the member countries from which it emanates having understood that it was overtaken by events to require scuttling itself or carrying out profound reforms. Due to the fact that it is no longer audible or credible. Its entire existence currently resides only on paper and not on the great deeds to his credit. Nobody believes in ECOWAS in West Africa anymore, unfortunately. Citizens prefer to believe in ghosts or even myths and legends than in ECOWAS from now on. And one wonders if anyone in West Africa will still believe it tomorrow, even if by extraordinary means, it returned from the Coma into which it was plunged by the multiple and repeated crises which shook the sub- region.
All these Heads of State and Government of West African countries have thus abandoned President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger. Like before him, they let down Roch Marc Christian Kaboré of Burkina Faso, while forgetting that this is how they too could end up falling. Because it would only be enough for a group of soldiers from their countries to decide. And, helplessly, this is recorded by ECOWAS as a simple formality of use from now on.
If any group of soldiers who decide to do so, as long as they have the latitude, can arrogate to themselves Power in any of the countries of West Africa at any time, and without batting an eyelid, then what is the point of going to the polls or having political parties, etc. from now on? The etymology of the term “election” refers to the possibility of “choosing” and not to any imposition or force. It comes from the Latin verb “eligere” which means (to choose) and the Latin noun “{electio}” which means (choice). Both crooked Politicians and Power-hungry Soldiers are an obstacle to the development of West Africa. And we should put each one back against the other, whatever the quibbles deployed by the military to try to justify their interference in political life. As if to mask their failure in the fight against Islamic terrorism and organized crime.
By Marcus Boni Teiga
