The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) should redouble efforts to win back the three Sahelian countries – Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – that recently quit the regional bloc, the International Crisis Group (ICG) has urged.
In a new report, titled “What Turmoil in ECOWAS Means for Nigeria and Regional Stability”, the Brussels-based conflict prevention and peacebuilding organization warns that “a broken ECOWAS will erode decades of economic, political and security efforts in West Africa.”
The report, published on its website on March 29, observes that the exit of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger will jeopardize joint efforts to curb security challenges, including jihadist insurgencies, banditry, transnational organised crime, as well as hurt West Africa’s economy.
Though the three nations represent only 17.4 percent of the region’s population and 10 percent of its $761 billion gross domestic product,…
Source: Guardian Newspaper
