This week, I was in Accra, Ghana for the third West Africa Citizen’s Summit organised by the civil society movement – turning the page (Tournons La Page) under the leadership of Professor David Dosseh. The Summit reviewed the decade of subversion of democracy by numerous incumbent presidents in West Africa who have been abusing the powers of incumbency to rig elections, to unilaterally and illegally change the constitution and extend their tenure and to suppress the people’s will. It is this anti-democratic behaviour that opened the floodgates of the return of military coups that has so far affected four countries in the region. Delegates that attended came from all West African countries including the three Alliance of Sahel States (AES) of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
The Summit began with a youth conference in which young people from the region debated their fears, concerns and hopes for the future threatened, as they see it, by reckless actions of corrupt old men in power in most West African countries. Most of them had travelled by road to Accra and recounted terror tales of the extortion they were subjected to by immigration and customs officials along the land borders they travelled across. They took the decision to organise a land caravan from Dakar to Abuja as their contribution to the 50th Anniversary Celebration of ECOWAS@50 next year. The caravan will campaign against the tradition of extortion by security agencies at borders, a culture that has made nonsense of the ECOWAS Protocols of free movement of persons and goods. West Africans must learn to resist corruption and extortion.
The representatives of the AES countries complained bitterly at the illegal border closures they were subjected to by what they thought was their own dear ECOWAS and in particular unprecedented sanctions that were targeted at ordinary citizens rather the military juntas that had taken over power. Some of them described ECOWAS and its leadership, particularly the Authority of Heads of State as an organ of neo-colonialism that was ready to destroy the people and concluded that ECOWAS must undergo significant reform if they are to consider returning to the organisation. While they are ready to go it alone in AES, some of them cautioned as the three countries are vulnerable and need some of their other neighbours. Burkina Faso’s main economic relations for example are with Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana and the three Sahel states are too similar to sustain productive economic relations.
The consensus at the meeting as stated in its communique is that the return of political instability to West Africa is a direct result of the declining adherence to the normative system designed to uphold democratic standards. The Summit lamented sustained disrespect of the Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance by many presidents and called for improvement of the text. It was recalled that in 2015, the attempt to introduce a provision in the Protocol preventing the extension of tenure beyond two terms was scuttled by the Presidents of Togo and the Gambia, both of whom were seeking tenure extension. The second attempt in 2022 was opposed by the Presidents of Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire and once again Togo for the same reasons. Some of our presidents have clearly become sworn enemies of democracy and advocates of single person perpetual rule.
The Summit expressed its concerns over the action of the presidential guard in Guinea who kidnapped two civil society activists of the Tournons La Page movement – Mamadou Billo Bah and Oumar Sylla alias Foniké Mengué. They should be released immediately.
Since 2020, ECOWAS has been in profound political crisis and the region in political instability due to a deep security challenge. Terrorist action has led to the massacre of thousands of people and millions of West Africans have been displaced from their homes. The 15-States in the region have become very fragile and can no longer provide for the security and welfare of their citizens. Four of the countries have suffered coup by the military while many others have suffered from constitutional coups by incumbent presidents. As the 50th Anniversary of ECOWAS approaches in May 2025, the organisation must become and take necessary reform measures that are profound. West African citizens must find the voice to make it clear to presidents in power that the existential crisis the region is facing is a direct outcome of their numerous attempts to remain in power for life.
The Togolese example is edifying in this regard. It was the first African country to undergo a coup d’état and has since suffered numerous constitutional, institutional and electoral coups to maintain one family – father and son in power. The most recent was just last May when all power was transferred to the chairman of the minister’s council, the new title President Faure took ever which now allows him to be president for life without even pretending to go through elections. This constitutional coup makes it impossible to even envisage alternation of power. Neither ECOWAS nor the African Union have come out to clearly challenge this deviation from democratic practice. These organisations must challenge such dramatic challenge to the democratic order if they are to survive.
The Summit recommended as follows:
Profound structural reform of ECOWAS to limit the absolute control of the organisation by presidents and heads of government;
Operationalise the constitutional convergence principles by placing a clear provision that makes tenure elongation impossible;
Make clear demands for the release of the rising numbers of human rights defenders arbitrarily detained by West Africa’s authoritarian regimes.
ECOWAS must work assiduously for the return of the three AES countries to the regional body and democratic transition in Guinea.
