50 Years On, What Exactly is ECOWAS? By Umar Farouk Bala
There was a time when West Africa spoke a single dream—a dream woven into the Treaty of Lagos in 1975, when 15 sovereign nations dared to believe in one future. That daring child of unity was christened the Economic Community of West African States—ECOWAS.
Today, that child turns 50. But with grey hairs come both celebration and soul-searching. ECOWAS was not born of chance. It was forged in the vision of leaders like Nigeria’s General Yakubu Gowon, who imagined a sub-region not fragmented by colonial borders, but fused together by shared prosperity, trade, and peace.
For five decades, the bloc has strived to embody that bold vision, sometimes stumbling, sometimes soaring—but never irrelevant. Indeed, the West African project has recorded moments of triumph. It stepped into civil wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Côte d’Ivoire—not as a neutral observer, but as a decisive mediator and peacekeeper.
In 2017, it upheld democracy in The Gambia, ensuring Yahya Jammeh’s reluctant departure after a failed power grab. These were not easy wins—they were sweat-drenched statements of purpose.
Yet, like many 50-year-olds, ECOWAS now finds itself at a crossroads. The departure of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—the Sahel’s trio of turbulence—has shaken the house. Their exit, packaged in sovereign defiance and clothed in a new alliance, has raised hard questions: Is the dream fading?
Is ECOWAS still the force it once aspired to be? But crises do not always signal collapse—they can also be crucibles of reinvention. Under the watch of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the diplomatic rigor of Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Nigeria is not retreating from regional leadership.
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Rather, it is reasserting its place at the head of the table—nudging the bloc toward renewal, not resignation. ECOWAS’s dilemma is real. Trade policies clash. Security threats evolve faster than protocols. Military coups now have hashtags and fanbases.
And regional unity competes daily with national pride. But so too is ECOWAS’s potential real—still immense, still within reach. To reclaim the dream, ECOWAS must double down—not on nostalgia, but on reinvention. It must become a marketplace of shared innovations, not just shared ideals.
Its protocols must travel faster than bullets in the Sahel. It must wield influence that resonates not just in government offices, but in the minds of West African youth, who now scroll through TikTok faster than trade agreements are signed.
And yes, the bloc must talk less and do more. Beyond communiqués, it must confront insecurity with intelligence, deepen democracy with real electoral accountability, and build economic corridors that do not collapse with the next border closure.
Fifty years is not a time to bask. It is a time to brace—to confront our contradictions, revisit our founding convictions, and rekindle a regional consciousness that does not fear discomfort or divergence.
As ECOWAS charts its next chapter, Nigeria remains the heartbeat of its ambition. It is a responsibility the country cannot outsource or ignore. The baton of regional leadership is still firmly in our hands—and it is heavy with both history and hope.
Let this 50th anniversary not just be a ribbon-cutting ritual but a moment of reawakening. The continent is watching. So is the world.
Umar Farouk Bala is a serving NYSC corps member serving at PRNigeria Centre Abuja. He can be reached at: [email protected]
