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full screen Nigerian President Bola Tinubu. Archive image. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool Via AP/TT
The leaders of the West African cooperation organization Ecowas gathered on Saturday for an emergency meeting on the shock wave of coups among member states.
Outwardly, the goal was to get three junta-led countries to withdraw their decision to leave the organization.
As part of the efforts, Ecowas chose to lift the sanctions aimed at Niger, one of the countries that imposed military rule.
But the meeting in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, is also about the future of the 49-year-old organization. Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu said in his opening remarks that the countries must follow and protect constitutional legal principles and work for social and economic improvement of the countries’ citizens.
At the same time, Tinubu appealed to Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, which have jointly said they are leaving the organization, to change their minds. He showed a desire for a softer stance on Ecowa’s part:
– We must reevaluate our current way of looking at the requirement for constitutional protection in our member states. I urge the countries to reconsider – and not see our organization as an enemy.
Since 2020, a total of nine coup d’états have taken place in countries that are part of Ecowas.