By Linus Aleke
Former member of Ghanaian delegation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Hon. Fredrick Opare-Ansah, said that the free movement of people and trade in ECOWAS region, is fueling crime and criminalities, such as insurgency, terrorism, and banditry.
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He further noted that violent crisis in one country, tends to affect others, adding, the disturbances in Burkina Faso, compelled Ghana to strengthen its border surveillance, which of course, comes at a huge cost.
This is even as he said that 48 years after the establishment of ECOWAS, the sub regional economic bloc, is still very relevant to member states.
Recall that ECOWAS rolled out drums to celebrate its 48th anniversary on May 28, 2023.
Hon. Opare-Ansah, who made this observation in a chat with newsmen, said that ECOWAS is doing well amongst the comity of multilateral institutions.
The former ECOWAS MP, said: “When countries do well they pull others up. For instance, when Nigeria, the power house in the sub-region gets its acts right economically and security wise, it is going to bring the rest of the sub-region up as it has by far the biggest population, which is more that 50 percent of the ECOWAS population. It also has vast resources too. So, we are all praying that Nigeria gets its act together, rise up as a giant, and takes its rightful place, not only in Africa but on the global stage, and the intended results would be the whole ECOWAS member states rising up with Nigeria”.
He recall that it took the intervention Nigeria to quench the fire in some conflict zone in West Africa, including the Gambia.
He concluded that the role played by Nigerian and Ghanaian military, through the instrumentality of ECOMOG, helped to restore peace in Liberia.
