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The unity of West African countries is in trouble. The region now has two regional organizations whose heads of state have just met at cross purposes. The new organization is a federation of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Despite the appeals of the three military heads of state of these countries to return to the common homeland of the Economic Community of West African States, they do not want to change their decision to leave ECOWAS. In the words of General Tini, the head of Niger, they have “irrevocably abandoned” it.
On Saturday, July 6, 2024, the first summit of heads of state of the Alliance for the Sahel (AES) took place in Niamey. This summit preceded that of the “mother organization” where those who left lived without their brothers, but with whom they still had much in common. Those who remained in the first house also held a closed-door meeting on Sunday, July 7, 2024, declaring that the situation at the summit was serious and that there was danger in the house. Who wins in the division of West Africa? Will the AES, by expanding its field of action beyond counter-terrorism, repeat the mistakes of the Economic Community of West African States, which started with economic issues, covered the political sphere, and weakened itself by refusing unconstitutional changes of power?
Surprisingly, the first summit of AES Heads of State was one of them. The preparatory documents for the AES Charter were ready on May 17, 2024, waiting only for the signature of the three presidents. Scheduling this summit before the ordinary ECOWAS meeting was a good communication move that stole the show. The emerging organization convenes before the declining one.
Three states form a federation
It started with the fight against terrorism and the protection of the Nigerien regime threatened by the military intervention of the ECOWAS Democratic Crusaders. It was a military cooperation treaty, a defense treaty against the military intervention of ECOWAS in Niger, signed on September 16, 2023, and was the origin of the AES alliance, whose constituent law officially entered into force in Niamey on July 6, 2024. In January 2024, at the end of the transition in Mali, the three countries decided to withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States with immediate effect. This decision, aimed at depriving the regional organization of any say in the political and institutional life of the transitional country, was the first step towards the creation of the alliance.
On closer inspection, the AES may still be part of the ECOWAS alliance. But military leaders are no longer willing to deal with ECOWAS’ civilian leaders, whom some accuse of being imperialist stooges. The AES heads of state, in addition to signing the alliance’s birth certificate, “decided to create the AES Unified Force and the so-called Permanent Trilateral Military Action Plan. » In terms of economic development, according to the final press release, “the AES alliance has decided to create an investment bank and a stabilization fund, among other things. » There is nothing new under the sun, and we are surprised to find that what we want to do on a small scale is done on a large scale at the economic level.
A sovereignist elected to convince rebellious sovereignists to stay in ECOWAS
The 65th ECOWAS Summit confirmed the turning point brought about by the lifting of sanctions during the previous summit. The elected civilian president no longer wanted to wage war against the mutinous army. Even better, there was a strong sense that the region would be in great danger if the current course of events was not interrupted. It was no longer just the demise of ECOWAS, but the disintegration of the region, with proxy wars instigated by competing imperialist powers. Mention was made of the danger of worsening and widening of the security crisis. With these concerns in mind, the President of Senegal, starting from the first ECOWAS Summit, had to convince the AES Heads of State to abandon their plans to leave ECOWAS and to join forces for financial sovereignty, thereby saving ECOWAS and West Africa by abandoning the CFA franc and establishing a common currency. Standing with their brothers and restoring the image of ECOWAS in the minds of the people as an independent organization that only serves the African people.
The 67th Summit entrusted him with the onerous task of mediation to save Pan-Africanism in West Africa. The project of rebuilding ECOWAS could include tasks such as making ECOWAS a people’s institution, for example by electing ECOWAS representatives through universal suffrage rather than by appointing members.
The AES heads of state should be happy to have shaken the coconut trees and awakened the machine that was sleeping on the credit books. ECOWAS heads of state were wrong to want to attack Niger to restore democracy and impose unjust sanctions. But all this is in the past and we must forgive, pardon those who made mistakes because if we are divided, the people will lose more. Only the enemies of Africa and the imperialist powers will bear the brunt of the disunity and competition between us.
“When we unite, we get hurt” Tiken Jah Fakoly
In the family, brothers sometimes quarrel and disagree on some issues. Whatever the conflict, it cannot be dragged on forever. The tradition of African culture is dialogue, discussing problems to find solutions. You should not fight with your brother, and the sun should not be angry with your brother. It is time for the heads of West African countries to meet and discuss the problems of the region, regardless of the way they came to power. Let us not let artists sing their despair about the lack of unity, which deprives us of all our dignity and prevents us from developing, defeating terrorism, and eliminating poverty while we have abundant wealth. West African heads of state, peace and unity, fight the enemy together!
Sanaa Gaye
Lefaso.com
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