As the Economic Community of West African States celebrated its 50th anniversary, regional leaders, policymakers, and scholars called for fresh unity and institutional reform and approaches driven by citizens for regional integration.
Speaking at the African Public Square Debate on “Future-Proofing Regional Integration in Africa” held in Abuja on Friday, key figures from across West Africa urged the reinvention of the ECOWAS in the face of growing insecurity, democratic decline, and public disillusionment.
“West Africa is at a very critical juncture,” said ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Abdel-Fatau Musah. “Democracy is in crisis, and it doesn’t seem like leaders have learned their lesson.”
Musah announced that ECOWAS had commissioned a “citizen-led introspection process” toward the elaboration of a new 15-year roadmap for regional development and insisted that young people and civil society must be at the helm of transformation.
Former Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, warned that ECOWAS risked irrelevance if it continued operating as “an elite club of rulers detached from the needs of its citizens.” He called for deep structural reforms, renewed political will, and reduced dependence on foreign donors.
“Fifty years is a milestone, but it must also be a moment of truth, a moment bold reform,” Fayemi said, adding that the ECOWAS “must become a citizen-centred community capable of addressing the issues of poverty, inequality, insecurity and governance failures.”
Other speakers, including Professor Funmi Olonisakin of King’s College London and Dr. Godwin Murunga of CODESRIA, emphasized the need for a rethink on regional cooperation in light of the fact that people-driven trade, mobility, and technology are driving integration more rapidly than state-led integration.
The Economic Community of West African States was established in 1975 to advance economic integration, free movement, and political cooperation among its 15 member states. Since then, it has taken a leading role in peacekeeping, conflict resolution, and defending democratic governance across West Africa.
