A security consultant, Professor Kwesi Aning, has referred to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as a failure and a disaster in handling coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
“ECOWAS is a failure and a disaster in how it has handled these three countries,” he said.
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have experienced coups that overthrew their democratic governments, and these countries are now under military or revolutionary governance. As a result, they were expelled from ECOWAS but would be compelled to rejoin if they agreed to return to democratic rule.
Speaking on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, he said former President Akufo-Addo could have handled Burkina Faso issues better.
“Our own former president thought he was selling out Burkina Faso to the United States. But for whatever favor he thought he was receiving, he accused Burkina Faso of having given gold mines to the Wagner Group,” he explained.
He also mentioned that Ghana and Nigeria, as observers, have been combating other West African states.
“Although Ghana has been the leader of the Accra Initiative and combating Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo, Benin, and even Ghana itself, with Nigeria as an observer, that treacherous behavior by Ghana undermined the whole Accra Initiative, bringing mistrust, suspicion, and a lot of disappointment,” he added.
Professor Aning also described the presence of the Burkina Faso military president and representatives from other military regime states at John Mahama’s inaugural ceremony on January 7, 2024, as a symbol of their willingness to rejoin ECOWAS.
“Having them in Accra symbolizes their willingness. First, a new leadership in Accra will bring a closer relationship,” he observed.
