Time for an ECOWAS policy adjustment

The continued isolation of outlawed states in the West African sub-region, indicates a disturbing split in the ECOWAS bloc. And these divisions will only be exploited by the foreign powers lurking in the region.

At a time when African unity is most needed, we can ill afford any divisions, as it only weakens us further.

With regard to the current crisis in Niger, the preservation of democracy seems to be the focus of ECOWAS, and rightly so. However, democracy only serves as a means to an end, and is not an end in itself.

With thousands killed by jihadist violence in the Sahel, democracy will inevitably lose its local value, if it fails to provide for the citizens, the security they deserve.

Unfortunately, ECOWAS seems to have elevated democracy above the safety and security of the peoples of the Sahel. This cold detachment from their plight, appears to be a fault line in the ECOWAS approach.

In our close-knit African societies, even one death impacts scores of connected family and friends. And thousands of deaths in one country, will definitely affect multitudes. Thus, the death toll from jihadist terrorism, remains a painful personal tragedy for millions of people across the Sahel.

Furthermore, it must be noted that the security and sound sleep we take for granted in the coastal states, are but a dream for those in the Sahel.

Therefore, the ECOWAS states fortunate enough not to be located in the Sahel, and which do not have to deal with the daily terror of jihadist attacks and massacres of their kinsfolk, must empathize with those who do.

This is by no means an attempt to oversimplify the many complications involved in regional geopolitics. However, ECOWAS, in my view, must approach this crisis by first appreciating the problem from the Nigeriens' perspective.

Only then, can ECOWAS begin to reconcile its valid defence of democracy, with the Sahelians' equally valid and desperate need for safety and security in their homelands.

Finally, if African Heads of State could travel as far as Russia/Ukraine to broker peace there, then we can certainly deal with any conflicts in our own backyard. Charity begins at home.