ECOWAS AT 50: REIMAGINING WEST AFRICAN REGIONAL COOPERATION AND INTEGRATION: ALTERNATIVE FUTURES

I had the honour of delivering an address at second edition of the African Public Square and the Experts’ Meeting on Alternative Futures for ECOWAS at 50, co-hosted by the African Leadership Centre, Amandla Institute for Policy and Leadership Advancementand CODESRIA in collaboration with WATHI.

This meeting came at a crucial time for the West African region. ECOWAS, now at its fiftieth year, is at a turning point, where the institution that once represented the continent’s boldest experiment in regional integration is now confronting profound political, economic, and security challenges. The conversation built on the gathering we convened in June, chaired by General Yakubu Gowon, the only surviving founding leader of ECOWAS, alongside the Commission’s President, Dr Ali Oumar Touray, and several of his predecessors. That meeting rekindled the founding vision of ECOWAS and inspired the deeper reflection that this second edition of the African Public Square sought to advance.

1. REIMAGINING WEST AFRICAN REGIONAL COOPERATION AND INTEGRATION: ALTERNATIVE FUTURES
Address Delivered by H.E Dr John Kayode Fayemi at the second edition of the African Public Square and the
Experts meeting on Alternative Futures for ECOWAS at 50 in Abuja, Nigeria
PROTOCOL
It is a pleasure and a delight on behalf of the Amandla Institute for Policy and Leadership Advancement to
welcome you to the second edition of the African Public Square and the Experts meeting on Alternative
Futures for ECOWAS at 50 - jointly organized with the African Leadership Centre (ALC), in collaboration with
Codesria and Wathi. This is a timely and critical conversation taking place on the shifting dynamics of
change within ECOWAS, the deepening security and governance challenges in the sub region and the future
of regional integration in West Africa. It follows the meeting of ECOWAS founding leaders that we convened
in June chaired by the only living founding father of ECOWAS, General Yakubu Gowon and attended by the
Commission’s President, Dr Ali Oumar Touray and most of his living predecessors in office.
This important gathering presents us with an opportunity to reimagine the regional integration project in all
its dimensions, including economic, security, political, and structural. In doing this, we must acknowledge
the significant contributions of ECOWAS in shaping regional peace and development. From inception,
ECOWAS has been a pacesetter among the regional economic communities on the continent. ECOWAS
pioneered norms and standards on peace and security as well as on democracy and good governance. It
also provided the models of managing international peacekeeping operations with its laudable rescue
missions in Liberia and Sierra Leone and later in Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia and Guinea Bissau.
Under normal circumstances, even without its current challenges, a strong case could be made for a
reinvention of the West African integration project. The grounds for such a reinvention are many, and they
were already a source of discussions well before the 50th anniversary of ECOWAS. At one level, there were
strong concerns that the promised transition from the ECOWAS of rulers - an elite club of incumbent
political leaders - to a Community of the people, centred on citizens, was not happening - at least not as
quickly and effectively as was wished. At another level, concerns were cumulating that the much-promised
internal reforms designed to make the Community more agile had stalled, with the consequence that the
organisation was becoming much more remote from the peoples of West Africa it was meant to serve, and
in danger of being reduced to an inchoate bureaucratic juggernaut. 
 
Furthermore, for all the efforts that had been made in adopting various inter-West Africa trade promotion
policies, progress was far from being optimal. And on such critical matters as the ECOWAS single currency,
its promised launch had become an endless wait as the target date kept being shifted on account of various
technicalities. Obstacles to intra-West African investments and the flow of services have persisted beyond
what can be easily explained, suggesting a deficit of political will among leaders. While steps were taken to
improve the internal finances of the Community, the problem of inadequate funding of many of its

2. programmes and agencies remains a huge challenge, a situation which exposed the Community to external
manipulation by various donors who have not lost any opportunity to embed themselves in its structures
and processes. The uncoordinated response of West Africa to the European Union’s free trade proposals,
packaged as the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) is a case in point.
Clearly, the current state of the regional body underscores the need for deep reflection on how ECOWAS
can move beyond being an elite-driven institution to one that truly represents and serves its people. The
challenges of poverty, inequality, governance deficits, and insecurity cannot be effectively addressed by
ECOWAS in its current form. There is an urgent need for a new, citizen-centered approach that responds to
the real concerns of ordinary West Africans, rather than focusing solely on the priorities of political leaders.
It is also my hope that a key part of our discussion will focus on security and the role of the military in
addressing instability in the region. It is now evident that traditional military strategies alone are inadequate
in tackling the complex threats posed by insurgent and terrorist groups. Many of these groups are deeply
embedded within communities and even, in some cases, within the military itself. What is needed is a more
sophisticated intelligence-based approach, combined with efforts to address the underlying social and
economic drivers of insecurity. We need a comprehensive human security strategy that deals with issues of
poverty, inequality, and governance failures, which extremist groups continue to exploit.
While it is understandable that many citizens are frustrated with civilian governments that have failed to
deliver on governance and security, we should also not mince words that military rule is not a viable
alternative in tackling governance deficits. History has shown that military regimes do not provide
sustainable solutions. In fact, in the three countries that have now exited ECOWAS, terrorism and insecurity
have worsened since the military took over. The challenge for ECOWAS is how to engage these regimes
while also ensuring a pathway back to credible democratic governance. It is crucial that ECOWAS continues
to leverage diplomatic efforts in finding pragmatic ways that do not alienate the breakaway states further
but instead brings them back into a cooperative regional framework. The current effort of the Commission
in this regard is noted. In this regard, ECOWAS has always been a flexible and adaptive regional body,
accommodating different sub-regional groupings like UEMOA, CENSAD, the Mano River Union, and others.
There is no reason why AES (the putative Sahelian bloc of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger) cannot continue to
be part of ECOWAS, even if they insist on maintaining a distinct identity. The goal should be to preserve
regional cooperation, stability, and development, rather than encouraging further divisions.
All of the issues confronting the region collectively reinforce the urgency of rethinking and reimagining
ECOWAS’s role in a changing West Africa. The regional body cannot continue business as usual. It must
evolve to reflect the realities on the ground and to rebuild trust with its citizens. 50 years is a significant
milestone in which ECOWAS has accomplished a lot, but it must also serve as a moment of reckoning: a
time for deep reflection, bold reforms, and a renewed commitment to the principles of regional integration,
security, and inclusive governance. The future of West Africa depends on the choices we make today, and it
is clear that ECOWAS must embrace change if it is to remain relevant in the years ahead.
It is my hope that the experienced experts we have here this morning will help us interrogate these issues
comprehensively and provide salient direction for the next fifty years of ECOWAS. I wish us all successful
deliberations.
Dr Kayode Fayemi
October 31, 2025