Former Nigerian head of state, Yakubu Gowon, has urged the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to lift sanctions on Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic.
Gowon, who is one of the founding fathers of ECOWAS, made the call in an open letter to the Heads of State and the ECOWAS member states on Wednesday.
The body has struggled in recent years to reverse a wave of military takeovers in the region, including Mali in 2020 and 2021, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Niger last year.
Members of the fifteen-nation bloc (excluding the four members suspended since falling under military rule – Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger), along with the eight-member West African Economic and Monetary Union, agreed to close all borders with Niger, suspend financial transactions and freeze the country’s assets in external banks.
The three countries, which mulled a counterforce, the Alliance of Sahel States, against the regional bloc after the overthrow of the democratically elected government in Niger, announced their exit from ECOWAS on Sunday, January 28, 2023.
In a joint statement by their military leaders, Capt. Ibrahim Traoré (Burkina Faso), Col. Assimi Goita (Mali), and Brig. Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani (Niger Republic), the three countries announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS with immediate effect.
The three countries, which are currently under military rule, said they ceased to be members of ECOWAS as the regional body had allegedly “moved away from the ideals of its founding fathers and pan-Africanism.”
