THE 37TH
ORDINARY SUMMIT OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES
AND THE FUTURE OF THE REGION
By Ben Shemang
Events of
the last few days in Niger Republic have proved that the
concerns expressed by the leaders of the Economic Community of
West African States, ECOWAS, last Tuesday over the
constitutional crisis in that country is justifiable.
The
overthrow of President Mamadou Tandja in a coup d’etat last
Thursday, came two days after the 37th Ordinary
Summit of ECOWAS in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, where the
leaders of the region stressed the need to resolve the political
crisis in Niger and other flashpoints in the region before the
get out of hand.
Political
tensions have been high in Niger in recent months over President
Tandja's extension of his rule through an outlandish
constitutional amendment, which drew widespread criticism,
international sanctions as well as suspension from ECOWAS.
At the
Abuja summit, ECOWAS leaders regretted that limited progress had
been made in the inter Nigerien Dialogue which started last
December and facilitated by General Abdulsalami Abubakar, a
former Nigerian Head of State. The two sides to the conflict
were urged to demonstrate flexibility in resolving the crisis.
From all
that have happened so far, the warning by the leaders of the
regional body fell on deaf ears as the country has glided into
yet another era of military junta. It is the country’s second
coup in eleven years.
The coup
has been widely condemned, even though the plotters have
promised early elections and return to democratic rule. Many
analysts are of the belief that ex President Tandja deserved the
fate that has befallen him after elongating his tenure at the
expiration of the constitutionally required two terms. But it
should be stressed that no reason is good enough to justify the
military overthrow of a civilian government, no matter how
illegitimate the regime may be.
While the
international community and indeed the ECOWAS find a way around
the situation in Niger, practical steps must be taken to address
other potentially volatile countries in the West African region,
which the regional leaders have identified.
At its
Abuja summit ECOWAS leaders hailed the signing of the
Ouagadougou Joint Declaration on Guinea Conakry and pledged
their support for the implementation of the six-month transition
programme there. The leaders of the region must not merely
pledge support for the transition to civil rule programme in
Guinea Conakry, they must ensure that the calendar for return to
democracy is followed to the letter. ECOWAS’ recommendation that
no member of the military junta or the transition committee
contests in the scheduled election must be complied with.
The
situation in Ivory Coast also portends great danger, unless
urgent steps are taken to intervene in the political crisis
there. ECOWAS leaders cautioned that President Laurent Gbagbo
who sacked his cabinet and the leadership of the electoral
commission should handle the matter with care, to avoid another
major conflict in the country where elections have been
postponed many times.
More
decisive measures need to be taken by ECOWAS leaders to get
their members to toe the line of constitutional democracy, if
peace and security is to be achieved in the region.
As for Togo
where technical challenges had made the authorities there to
shift election that would have been held on 25th
February 2010 to 4th March, 2010, ECOWAS says it
intends to assist the country by deploying a Hybrid Civilian
Military ECOWAS Election Observer Mission there as a purely
confidence building measure and mechanism to demonstrate the
commitment of the regional body in the consolidation of
democracy in Togo.
The ECOWAS
leaders have been able to identify the trouble spots in the
region as could be seen in the outcome of their 37th
Ordinary Summit held last Tuesday. The regional organization
must go beyond identifying the flashpoints to taking practical
steps to avert conflict and deepen democracy in those countries.
The new
leadership of ECOWAS must come up with new strategies to
accomplish this task. Nigeria’s Acting President, Dr. Goodluck
Jonathan, who was elected as ECOWAS chairman last Tuesday as
well as the newly appointed President of ECOWAS Commission, Mr.
Victor Beyu must take the bull by the horn by giving the
regional body a new lease of life and providing dynamic
leadership that will restore peace and good governance to the
region.
