By Linus Aleke, Abuja
A member of Ghanaian delegation to the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), Parliament, Hon. Emmanuel Armah- Kofi Buah, has said that the return of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali to the sub-regional bloc is possible, but must be navigated carefully as it is a tricky matter.
He stressed the important of having the three Sahel countries back in the economic bloc to enhance a united front with unity of purpose in addressing issues concerning the sub region.
The Ghanaian MP who spoke to ThisNigeria at the just concluded
inaugural ceremony of the 6th Parliament in Abuja, also cautioned that ECOWAS must be tactful and careful in handling the three countries to find lasting solution to the impasse, stressing that unlike Guinea that has returned to the community parliament, the other three failed to respond to a similar opportunity given them.
He said that Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger were conspicuously absent thus, at the inaugural ceremony of the 6th Parliament.
Hon. Buah, who is also Deputy Minority Leader of the Ghanaian Parliament, expressed gratitude to the Chair of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Ahmed Tinubu and Commission’s President, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, for their hospitality during the ceremony in Nigeria.
He said: “So far, I think the Chair of the Authority of Heads of State and Government said the right things. We must do everything we can to bring back our brothers and sisters into the fold. It is key for us, and we must find that solution. It is clear as the chairman of the commission said but our words must match our actions, so we must act in that direction very critically”.
On whether he was worried about the absence of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, the ECOWAS MP said, “We believe that steps must be taken, to make sure we resolve all the outstanding impacts.
The fact is that we have no choice, we are in this together; Ghana cannot develop and leave like an island and they would be fine, unless the whole of the West African countries are also developed. We cannot have a universal access to electricity and see Burkina Faso and Togo have 30% of electricity.
Again, you know what will happen, we will be overwhelmed by all these people from other countries, and so we must all develop together, and take the step together. It is not like we have a choice; our destiny is being tied; we must work together to move forward together. It is very clear that these perspective opportunities will allow us to move the vision of our founding fathers”.
The sub regional MP, noted that the vision of Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, has become very relevant today.
According to him, “Yesterday as I was observing things, I asked myself what a missed opportunities, if only Kwame Nkrumah had moved that train as quickly in 1957 and 1958, to organize the all African conference and pushed the agenda of the independence of Africa, we would not have come here today speaking to our sisters and brothers in different countries in French, English and Portuguese; we would have been speaking one language. We have work to do”.
As a representative from Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s home town, he noted that what Pan Africanist envisaged, was one united and indivisible Africa.
“Today I don’t think anyone would dispute that, if we are going to negotiate with the big countries like China and America, we shouldn’t go with tiny cups in hand, rather we should go as a bloc and with values,” he concluded.
