As the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) marks another year since its founding, the bloc finds itself facing some of the most serious challenges in its history. Once praised globally as a stabilizing force in the region, ECOWAS is now navigating a period of internal division, rising insecurity, and a crisis of leadership.
The departure of three junta-led member states—Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—earlier this year has deepened fractures within the organization. At the same time, the region continues to battle growing threats from jihadist groups that are taking advantage of strained relations between member countries, particularly in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin. In recent months, countries like Benin and Nigeria have come under repeated attack.
In 2024, the Sahel was once again identified as the global epicentre of terrorism, responsible for over half of the world’s terrorism-related deaths, according to the Global Terrorism Index released in March.
Over the past decade, nearly half of the original ECOWAS member states have experienced coups or attempted coups, fueled by widespread public dissatisfaction and a lack of trust in political leadership. This wave of political instability has undermined democratic governance and strained relationships among neighboring countries.
Experts argue that the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger has significantly eroded ECOWAS’s influence and credibility on the regional stage.
The exit “is a major dent on this organisation’s capacity to harness the optimism and hopes of its birth,” said Kwesi Aning, an international cooperation specialist at the Accra-based Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre.
“It reflects a disastrous level of leadership amongst ECOWAS leaders,” he added.
Leadership Under Scrutiny
Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, currently serving as ECOWAS’s rotating chair, is expected to deliver remarks at the anniversary event in Lagos, alongside General Yakubu Gowon, the 89-year-old co-founder of ECOWAS and former Nigerian military ruler.
While Nigeria, the region’s most populous nation and its largest economy, has traditionally played the role of ECOWAS’s anchor, its leadership capacity is now in question.
As noted by SBM Intelligence in a report published Wednesday, Nigeria is “faltering” in its regional leadership role.
“Its internal crises — including economic mismanagement, political instability, the Boko Haram insurgency, and governance failures — have significantly diminished its ability to lead,” the report said.
According to the same analysis, ECOWAS now stands “at a critical juncture between its foundational aspirations of economic integration and peace and the stark realities of regional insecurity, democratic backsliding, and internal fragmentation.”
Trade Disruption Deepens
The ripple effects of this turmoil are being felt acutely in cross-border trade. Prior to the political fallout between Nigeria and Niger following the July 2023 coup in Niamey, Nigeria’s Dawanau market in Kano was a major hub for grain exports to Niger. While supply volumes have remained steady, the costs associated with moving goods have surged.
Several traders and truck operators in Kano told AFP that tariffs on Nigerian goods entering Niger have risen fivefold since the country’s departure from ECOWAS.
“We were paying an equivalent of 100,000 naira (about $64) as import duty on each truck before they left ECOWAS, but we now pay around 500,000 naira,” said Aliyu Abubakar, a 40-year-old trucker.
The increased cost burden has also contributed to a rise in illicit trade across the region’s porous borders.
“Smuggling is thriving,” said Mustapha Buhari, a 47-year-old resident of Mai-Adua, a border town in Nigeria.
As ECOWAS commemorates its anniversary, it does so under the shadow of unprecedented political and security upheavals—raising urgent questions about its future direction and unity.
