ABUJA, Nigeria — Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convened on Sunday in the Nigerian capital, candidly acknowledging the severe challenges gripping the region, marked by escalating unrest and pervasive political instability.
“Our region is at the crossroads,” declared Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio as he assumed the rotating chairmanship of ECOWAS, succeeding Nigeria’s Bola Tinubu.
Bio detailed a grim landscape for West Africa, describing it as “facing serious challenges, some long-standing, others new and evolving.” These formidable obstacles, he elaborated, encompass “insecurity in the Sahel and coastal states, terrorism, political instability, illicit arms flow and transnational organised crimes.”
President Bio emphasized the urgent need to “overhaul our collective security architecture,” highlighting the importance of enhanced intelligence-sharing and rapid response mechanisms. He also expressed deep concern that “the democratic space is under strain in parts of our region — the constitutional order has been disrupted.”
This sentiment reflects a turbulent decade where nearly half of ECOWAS’s original member states have experienced coups or attempted putsches, severely straining diplomatic relations within the bloc.
Earlier this year, three junta-led nations – Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger – notably withdrew from ECOWAS, opting to forge their own alliances. This fragmentation has created fertile ground for jihadist groups, who are capitalizing on the strained regional ties to expand their influence across the Sahel and Lake Chad basin.
Recent intensified offensives include brutal raids in Mali, incursions into major cities in Burkina Faso, and significant military losses in Niger. Even summit host Nigeria has faced a recent surge in attacks targeting both civilians and military installations.
Outgoing ECOWAS chair Bola Tinubu, in his address, underscored the “stark and consistent challenges that continue to impede our aspirations… violent extremism and other cross-border crimes that have continued to widen” and intensify across the region.
The push for a standby force
The military juntas that seized power in the three Sahel states had initially pledged to prioritize security. However, much like their deposed predecessors, they are struggling to contain the relentless advance of jihadists, who now pose an unprecedented threat to neighboring West African coastal countries.
Tinubu affirmed that under his leadership, ECOWAS “deployed all diplomatic means” to engage the three seceded countries, expressing confidence “that before too long, they may return” to the bloc.
According to Ikemesit Effiong, an analyst with SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based African geopolitical risk consulting firm, bringing Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger back into the ECOWAS fold will be the “biggest test” for Maada Bio’s chairmanship.
Bio himself is a former soldier who briefly led a military junta in Sierra Leone over two decades ago.
The three breakaway nations have formed their own confederation, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), and earlier this year announced the establishment of a joint 5,000-strong force for military operations.
In response to the escalating threats, ECOWAS leaders in August 2023 developed plans for a military “standby force” specifically designed to combat terrorism and transnational crime. Initially, this force was envisioned to address the junta leaders in Niger who had overthrown the sitting president.
“ECOWAS must act decisively to operationalise the standby force in the fight against terrorism to serve as an instrument for peace and stability for our region,” Tinubu urged. He also voiced his concern, stating, “I am a little bit worried about the slow pace of its activation, which is taking longer than desired.”
While ECOWAS did not provide a specific timeline for the standby force’s operationalization, the organization has a notable history of military interventions, having deployed forces in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau since the 1990s.
