A coalition of West African civil society organisations (CSOs) have urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the leadership of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to intervene by lifting the sanctions the regional bloc imposed on Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso over the coups that rocked the three countries for amicable resolutions of the crises.
Executive Director, CISLAC, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani; General Secretary, West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF), Kop’ep Dabugat; and Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) representative, Najaatu Mohammed, made the call at a briefing on Thursday in Abuja.
However, the CSOs urge dialogue to mitigate disintegration of ECOWAS and ensure speedy restoration of democratic rule in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
They said that while they continue to condemn military rule in the region rather than resorting to constitutional measures, the threat of gradual disintegration of a community which had hitherto served as best practice template for regional integration in Africa cannot be overlooked.
“It is imperative for Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, and indeed the rest of the member states of ECOWAS to have a deep reflection over the collective milestones of the regional integration collectively achieved, including peace missions to member states; free mobility of people, goods and services.
“Trade enhancement through the removal of customs duties and tariffs on commodities; as well as collective infrastructural development efforts such as the West African power pool leading to the construction of Diama and Manatali dams in Senegal and Mali respectively.
“At a time when the region is advancing discussions of a single market to further boost trade and development, it is completely disheartening to see leaders shun the channel of diplomacy and dialogue and instead attempting to disintegrate the community,” they said.
