By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Two West African countries, Ivory Coast and Ghana, are advocating for the immediate return of junta-led Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger to the regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), after they announced their formal exit this year.
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara and his Ghanaian counterpart John Dramani Mahama are the latest to call for the return of the three countries facing insurgencies, during a meeting in Ivory Coast on Wednesday.
Between 2020 and 2023, the military took over power in Bamako, Ouagadougou, and Niamey following coups. The countries officially left ECOWAS at the end of January, after a one-year notice, accusing the bloc of being influenced by France.
The trio also alleged that ECOWAS had failed to help in the fight against jihadist violence in their countries. They have icy relations with their former colonial power, France.
In response to their expulsion from the bloc following the coups, they formed a security and economic pact called the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
However, Mahama, on a visit to Abidjan, offered to be a “bridge” between ECOWAS and AES, saying:
“We need to see how we can work with them so that they not only remain within our subregion but also transition to constitutional democracy.”
“I hope that President Mahama’s appeal will be heard by these three brother countries, so we can continue together within ECOWAS,” Ouattara added during a joint press conference.
Relations soured following the July 2023 coup in Niger, after which ECOWAS threatened military intervention to restore constitutional democracy and imposed heavy economic sanctions on Niger, which have since been lifted.
“We’re prepared to help them fight terrorism because, in our country, we all know that when your neighbour’s house is on fire, you have to help him quench it before it spreads into your own compound,” said Mahama.
“There’s more that unites us than divides us,” added Mahama, who said he intends to travel to all three countries soon.
Ouattara said ECOWAS member states backed him in bringing Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger back into the fold “because the future of West Africa depends on it.”
Several mediation missions were led by Togo and Senegal to try to prevent the split, but the military regimes insisted their departure was “irreversible.”
During their meeting on Wednesday, Ouattara and Mahama also discussed defence, security, and the cocoa economy, as the two neighbours are among the world’s leading producers.
