By Emmanuel Nduka
On Tuesday, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in the junta-led nations of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali, in a unified show of support for their departure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The move, effective Wednesday, marks a dramatic shift in the region’s political landscape, fracturing the bloc and leaving its future in doubt.
These three countries, all founding members of ECOWAS, have now formed a new confederation called the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
Their decision to leave ECOWAS, formally announced in January, cites the bloc’s growing reliance on France, a country that has become a target of these governments’ criticisms.
Paris, once a close partner, is now seen as an adversary, with the three Sahelian nations aligning themselves with countries like Russia, Turkey, and Iran instead.
This shift comes despite ECOWAS’s requirement for a one-year notice for withdrawal—an obligation that expires Wednesday.
In Niger, crowds gathered in the capital, Niamey, led by the military regime, to chant anti-French slogans and criticize regional leaders, including those from Benin, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast.
Ibro Amadou Bacharou, a top aide to Niger’s junta leader, declared that the country’s break from ECOWAS was official. “There is nothing left between ECOWAS and us,” he affirmed.
In Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, thousands of protesters, including Prime Minister Rimtalba Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo, rallied in support of the AES.
Signs reading “Long live AES, down with ECOWAS” and “Goodbye hand-tied ECOWAS, long live free AES” were prominently displayed. Ouedraogo passionately declared that cutting ties with ECOWAS was necessary to rid the region of “imperialism.”
Meanwhile, in Mali, similar scenes unfolded as crowds gathered at Kurukanfuga near the capital, Bamako, a site historically significant to the Mandingo empire. Samou Samuel Kone, an organizer, criticized ECOWAS for abandoning its founding principles and hindering the progress of member states.
As the three nations move forward with their new alliance, they plan to introduce a shared passport system and form a unified military force of 5,000 troops, aimed at combating regional jihadism.
The exit of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso from ECOWAS is a bold declaration of political realignment in West Africa, signaling the rise of the AES as a challenger to the bloc’s influence in the region.
