The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Council of the Wise has warned regional governments against being proxy frontiers of foreign powers.
The ECOWAS Council of the Wise, under the Chairmanship of former Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, warned that if relevant stakeholders tolerate foreign interference, the region will become a place of wider conflict.
This was disclosed in a statement tweeted on the ECOWAS X page on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
The council stated,
- “We further note the growing geo-political incursions into the region and the vulnerability of Member States as proxy frontiers for the advancement of geo- strategic interests of foreign powers. In this regard, we call on the ECOWAS Commission and national leaders to take urgent steps to prevent the region from becoming an arena of geo-strategic conflicts in the Community.”
Stability of the region
The council also called on political leaders to consider posterity and prioritize the interest of their people.
It explained that the pursuit of participatory and people-oriented governance processes will lead to peace, security, and stability in the region.
It expressed concerns over the systemic nature of corruption, money laundering, and transnational organized crime, and their impact on sustainable development in the region.
But it noted that member-states can co-operate and collaborate to address the aforementioned transnational challenges.
The statement added,
- “Cognizant of the youthful demography of the region, and youth’s needs, aspirations, and increasing vulnerabilities, we call on Member States to urgently design programs and strategies to effectively engage them more productively.
- “We recommend to the ECOWAS Authority that the Council be empowered to initiate dialogue and preventive diplomacy in the immediate, medium and long- term in the pursuit of good governance, peace and security in the region.”
What you should know
- The ECOWAS Council of the Wise was established by the institution in 2005, as a channel of preventive diplomacy and mediation support in the community.
