THE Economic Community of West African States, a regional bloc consisting of 15 member countries—Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo—turned 50 this year.
Established on May 28, 1975, through the Treaty of Lagos, ECOWAS was created to foster economic integration and cooperation among West African countries. Cabo Verde joined the community two years later, in 1977, while Mauritania, an original member, withdrew in 2000 after shifting its focus to the Arab Maghreb Union, and due to disagreements over plans for a single currency.
Over the past 50 years, ECOWAS has significantly influenced the political and economic landscape of the sub-region, although its history includes both major achievements and serious challenges.
One of ECOWAS’s most commendable achievements has been its active role in conflict resolution. The ECOWAS Monitoring Group was instrumental in peacekeeping efforts that helped end devastating civil wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Mali, and Guinea-Bissau.
The bloc demonstrated its commitment to democracy in 2017 when it intervened to resolve the political crisis in The Gambia, ensuring the peaceful transfer of power after Yahya Jammeh refused to step down following electoral defeat.
Moreover, ECOWAS has consistently sought to uphold democratic norms by sanctioning member states that experience unconstitutional changes in government, though its effectiveness has varied.
President Bola Tinubu’s chairmanship from June 2023 to June 2025, however, was overshadowed by the withdrawal of three member states—Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso—who formed the Alliance of Sahel States. These countries cited concerns that their interests were not adequately represented within ECOWAS.
The bloc’s firm response to Niger’s military coup in December 2023, which ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, further highlighted the growing tensions within the community.
The departure of these countries, along with the possibility of others following suit, has raised serious questions about ECOWAS’s cohesion and relevance as it enters its sixth decade.
As Tinubu handed over to President Maada Bio of Sierra Leone on June 22 at the 67th Session of the ECOWAS Authority, 2025 in Abuja, he noted the inability of the sub-region’s leaders to vigorously tackle its numerous challenges.
In his acceptance speech, Bio envisioned brighter prospects for the body. He pledged to lead a renewed, people-centred, and action-oriented ECOWAS in the face of unprecedented challenges and opportunities for the region.
He said his leadership would focus on restoring constitutional order and deepening democracy, revitalising regional security cooperation, unlocking economic integration, and building institutional credibility.
He acknowledged the challenges of insecurity, terrorism, illicit arms flow, political instability, and transnational crime, particularly in the Sahel and coastal states, and the limitations facing the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme.
Despite its half-century of existence, ECOWAS has yet to realise some of its most ambitious goals, such as establishing a single currency and forging a robust economic union comparable to the European Union.
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