By : Lloyd Mahachi
Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso officially quit the West African bloc Ecowas on 29 January 2024, severing ties after years of strained relations that have reshaped trade routes in the Sahel region.
The three nations are strengthening their cooperation through the Alliance of Sahel States, announcing plans to create a joint military force of 5,000 troops to fight terrorism. Dubbed “Sahelexit” by some commentators, the decision was first announced a year ago by the countries’ military leaders.
They will also introduce a shared passport system to allow free movement between their territories.Foreign ministers from the three countries met in Ouagadougou on Sunday to finalise the terms of their disengagement from Ecowas. They stressed an intergreted plan to negotiations in line with the AES framework.
The ministers of the nations said they were resolute to complete their exit swiftly while exploring practical solutions for future links with neighbouring nations.
“We are ready to engage in dialogue with Ecowas to provide solutions to the concerns of the populations and their states,” said Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop.
The three leaders remained “fully committed” to Pan-Africanism, advocating “friendship, fraternity and solidarity” within AES, across West Africa and the African diaspora, he added.
For Komi Amewunou a policy analyst and editor of Afrobarometer a pan-African research network the exit is not only final but logical for the three states”It is legitimate for Sahel states to exit because they feel like Ecowas is not autonomous like foreign powers are influencing its decisions,” he said.
“That’s what citizens are thinking … that it is not safe for them to keep a relationship with a regional organisation that is not completely autonomous.”
Amewunou added that the security crisis in the Sahel, particularly in francophone West Africa, played a major role in the split, as did the effect on foreign powers like France.
He added that AES may now seek mutual alliances with other Ecowas states, including Togo, where he is based.
“Togo is close to AES, but we can’t determine its position in terms of a potential Ecowas exit. Yet, Togo could be highly favourable to an exit and to enter AES in the near future,” Amewunou said.
The three military leaders cut ties with Ecowas after playing a pivotal role in coups between 2020 and 2023. In response to that, Ecowas imposed harsh economic sanctions, pushing the juntas to seek alternative trade routes.
Leaving the bloc comes with logistical and economic barriers. Before relations collapsed, 80 percent of Niger’s freight passed through Benin’s port of Cotonou, the closest to the capital Niamey.
Despite Ecowas lifting its sanctions, Niger has refused to reopen its border with Benin, accusing it of harbouring jihadist groups trying to destabilise the country.
Fears for the future in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso over Ecowas withdrawal
In Côte d’Ivoire, Abidjan’s port also saw a drop in road freight in the first half of 2024 for similar reasons.
Meanwhile, Togo and Guinea strengthen ties with AES countries, making the ports of Lomé and Conakry key transit points.
The split is also a setback to Ecowas. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, the departure of these three founding members decreases the bloc’s population of 424 million by 16 percent and its GDP by 7 percent.
Editor : Josephine Mahachi