Toyyibat Qasim
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has blamed President Bola Tinubu and the Economic Community of West African States for the withdrawal of Niger Republic, Mali and Burkina Faso from the regional bloc, saying their handling of the 2023 coup in Niger deepened divisions in West Africa.
Obasanjo said ECOWAS and Nigeria, which played a leading role in the bloc’s response to the military takeover, mishandled the crisis and contributed to the decision by the three military-led countries to abandon the organisation.
The former president spoke during an interview at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics, monitored by SaharaReporters on Tuesday.
He expressed concern that West Africa’s relative stability had been undermined by a resurgence of military coups, political instability and armed conflicts, particularly in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
“We were still managing to keep our regional organisation intact, ECOWAS, until the coup in Niger Republic, when I believe the way ECOWAS as an organisation handled it, and Nigeria as the leader in ECOWAS reacted, made three of the members of ECOWAS, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic, rebel,” Obasanjo said.
He added, “I think it was a bit of a sort of rebellion and they got out of ECOWAS and declared themselves Alliance of the Sahel.”
The three countries announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS in January 2024 after months of escalating tensions with the regional bloc over its response to military takeovers and demands for a return to constitutional rule.
Their decision followed the formation of the Alliance of Sahel States, a mutual-defence arrangement established by Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso in September 2023.
Tinubu, who became chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in July 2023, had adopted a firm position against military coups in the region.
Following the July 26, 2023 coup that ousted Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Niger, demanded the restoration of constitutional order and threatened military intervention.
The regional bloc subsequently activated its standby force but eventually pursued diplomatic efforts instead of launching a military operation.
However, the proposed intervention provoked opposition from Mali and Burkina Faso, whose military authorities warned that any attack on Niger would be regarded as an attack on their own countries.
Obasanjo said the fallout from the crisis had significantly weakened regional cohesion, while insecurity continued to plague the three countries.
“Since then, things have not been the same for ECOWAS as a region, and things have not been the same. There has been conflict in Mali, conflict in Burkina Faso, conflict in Niger Republic,” he said.
He noted that efforts to bring the three countries back into ECOWAS were still ongoing, although their departure had altered the political and security landscape of West Africa.
The former president’s remarks come amid continuing concerns over the effectiveness of regional cooperation in tackling terrorism, military takeovers and other security challenges across the continent.
Beyond West Africa, Obasanjo described Africa’s security situation as one of the worst since the continent gained independence, citing escalating conflicts, violence and humanitarian emergencies in several countries.
He identified Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia among the countries grappling with serious security challenges.
According to him, Sudan’s conflict has developed into one of Africa’s gravest humanitarian disasters, with external actors allegedly supporting opposing sides.
