O’tega Ogra
For all the ambition that has long swirled around regional integration in West Africa, the reality has remained underwhelming. Trade among ECOWAS member states still lags just below 10 percent.
In an era where continents compete not just on GDP but on supply chains, self-reliance, and economic coherence, that figure is a quiet indictment. At the West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) 2025 in Abuja, we saw a region no longer content with aspiration alone.