By Iddi Yire
Accra, April 15, GNA – The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) has held a High-Level Policy Dialogue on Understanding Geopolitical and Strategic Changes in West Africa: Emerging Challenges and the Future of West Africa in Accra.
The event, which was organised by the WANEP in collaboration with the Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and the Conflict Research Network (CORN) West Africa.
It broadly seeks to provide a platform for stakeholders to reflect deeply on the innovative frameworks and mechanisms capable of addressing the emerging challenges in West Africa in the medium to long-term within the context of relevant Articles of the 1993 ECOWAS Revised Treaty and changing geopolitical and strategic context in the region.
In addition, the policy dialogue deliberated on the strategies for addressing the concerns of the AES countries, and bringing Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger back within the ECOWAS fold.
The meeting specifically sought to address issues such as what are the innovative frameworks and mechanisms capable of addressing the emerging challenges in West Africa in the medium to long-term within the changing geopolitical and strategic context in the region?
Mrs. Levinia Addae-Mensah, Executive Director, WANEP, reiterated that the Dialogue comes at a defining moment for the West Africa region, one marked by unprecedented dynamics and waves of uncertainties.
“Our beloved West Africa is confronted by/with a complex array of challenges that threaten to erode decades of investment in peacebuilding, regional integration, democratic governance, and social cohesion,” she said.
She added: “The increasing fragility and fragmentation within the ECOWAS space, the growing influence of external geopolitical actors, the persistent threats of violent extremism interlinked with kidnapping, banditry, and communal violence, unconstitutional changes of government, shrinking civic space, and worsening humanitarian crises have collectively created a volatile landscape that demands urgent and innovative responses.”
Mrs. Addae-Mensah said some analyses suggest the region was a gathering storm or a boiling cauldron, while others in less modest terms refer to the region as a House of Cards.
She said that the recent exit of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger from ECOWAS—the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) countries — was s a profound indicator of the deep fractures they must confront with courage, candour and commitment.
Mrs. Addae-Mensah said although this development introduces new complexities, threatening regional stability and ECOWAS’ pro-democracy agenda, it also compels they not only to understand the geopolitical and strategic changes taking place, but to think differently, to reimagine the role of regional Institutions and civil society in shaping a more inclusive, resilient, and united West Africa.
She said beyond the region, there was a rapidly evolving landscape of global governance riddled with rivalries and changing multilateralism, decline in western influence and rise in alternative partnerships, climate change, global economic pressures and debt crises leading to evolving paradigms of governance and regional integration.
She said as a civil society network rooted in the principles of inclusivity and local ownership, WANEP believes that sustainable peace and security would only be possible when we bridge the gap between policy and practice— between institutions and the communities they serve.
“We are particularly encouraged by the commitment of ECOWAS to organize a Special Summit on the Future of Regional Integration in West Africa, and it is our hope that the actionable policy recommendations emerging from today’s deliberations will enrich that summit and inform future strategies for peace, integration, and transformation in the region,” she said.
“Let us remember that despite the challenges, West Africa is not without hope. Our region is rich in human and natural resources, endowed with vibrant cultures, resilient communities, and a youthful population yearning for peace and opportunity,” she urged.
Mrs. Addae-Mensah said what was required now was bold leadership, strategic collaboration, and a renewed commitment to the ideals of regional solidarity.
Dr Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner, Political Affairs, Peace and Security, who delivered the keynote address, said: “We stand at a defining moment in the history of West Africa. ECOWAS is at cross-roads.”
“The hurdles ahead are daunting, but with commitment of every West African, particularly citizen agency, to re-imagine ECOWAS by the People, of the People and for the People with a strong sense of solidarity and self-reliance, ECOWAS shall traverse this trying period and emerge as a stronger and more resilient regional organisation.”
Dr Cyril Obi, Programme Director, APN and the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa Programme, reiterated that the people of West Africa were one people with a shared destiny, even though they had been separated by colonial borders.
GNA
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