Ecowas finds it hard to make its member countries follow the rules. More leaders are not doing what this group of 15 West African nations wants.
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger call themselves the Alliance of Sahel States. They try very hard to leave Ecowas. Guinea has army leaders who take a long time to let normal people vote again.
People pay attention to these four countries, but four other Ecowas countries have growing problems.
In October, people in Cote d'Ivoire will vote for a president. Nobody knows what will happen, just like last time in 2020. President Alassane Ouattara is 83 years old. He says he wants to keep being president, even though his party hasn't picked a candidate yet.
Ouattara said before he would step down if his old enemies stopped working in politics. If he runs again, many people will say this is his fourth time trying to be president. In the Ecowas area, when leaders try to stay for three terms, it often causes big fights.
The Gambia might have trouble soon because President Adama Barrow really wants to win the 2026 election. In January 2017, Ecowas had to use soldiers to end Yahya Jammeh's mean 22-year rule.
President Barrow should focus on improving The Gambia. Instead, he still uses the old 1997 rules from Jammeh's time. He wants Ecowas to let him create a special court to judge crimes from the Jammeh years. But he also brought some Jammeh helpers into his team to win the last election.
Barrow started a group to write new rules in 2017. They gave him a draft in September 2020. His government threw away that work and focused on winning the 2021 election. A new draft came to Parliament only in December 2024. People must vote on it before the 2026 election, and Barrow says he will run again.
February 2025 matters a lot for Guinea Bissau and Togo. Togo will have a weird Senate election on February 15, 2025. The election boss let people send in names until January 7, 2025.
Smart people call this election "Keeping the Gnassingbé Family in Power." President Faure Gnassingbé took over from his dad in 2005. In March 2024, Togo's parliament, full of Faure's friends, voted 87-0 to change the rules. People can't vote for their leader directly anymore.
The new rules create a powerful job called President of the Council of Ministers. Parliament members pick this person, and they act like a prime minister with lots of power. Since Faure's party has the most seats, he will get this job. They rushed an election in April 2024, and his party won 108 of 113 seats.
The February 15 Senate elections will create a new part of Togo's law-making group. Local leaders pick 75% of these Senate members, and the rest come from the President of the Council of Ministers. This person can serve for six years, not five like the current president, and can keep running forever.
These changes break Ecowas rules, but nobody stops the Faure government. Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey even said his country might join the Alliance of Sahel States. This might be a trick to keep Ecowas from scolding Togo.
Guinea Bissau has problems, as President Umaro Embalo makes things harder for Ecowas. Embalo's term as president ends February 27, 2025, and only magic can stop him from staying longer. He closed the country's parliament more than a year ago. The election group and highest court don't work anymore, and Ecowas leaders don't say anything about Embalo's actions, either.
Ecowas leaders who break the rules feel brave because their friends don't tell them to stop. This has been happening for more than ten years in Ecowas, which turns 50 in May.
Ecowas did many good things in Africa, but bossy leaders who didn't follow the rules hurt it badly. We need to think about what West Africa would be like without Ecowas keeping peace.
Ghana's new President, John Mahama, did a good thing. He named a Special Helper to talk with the Alliance of Sahel States. His work should fit with what Ecowas tries to do.
The team of Faure Gnassingbe and Senegal's President Diomaye Faye can't fix problems with the Alliance countries. We need better people to help.
The African Union meeting in Addis Ababa gives Ecowas leaders a chance to discuss security, money, and leadership problems. Nigeria's Ambassador Bankole Adeoye keeps his job as AU Commissioner of Political Affairs, Peace, and Security. Ghana's Ambassador Amma Twum-Amoah becomes Commissioner of Health, Humanitarian Affairs, and Social Development. Both come from West Africa, which helps Ecowas.
People in Ecowas countries must change their leaders' behavior. The saying "power belongs to the people" makes sense everywhere.
The people of Burkina Faso kicked out President Blaise Compaoré without using guns. They made him leave in 2014. People in Liberia, Senegal, and Ghana changed their governments by voting and making sure votes counted right.
Voters who sell votes or vote just because of tribe or religion cause problems. People who don't join in politics but expect others to fix things have no right to complain. Each country gets the kind of leaders it earns.
People hold all the power in government. If Ecowas leaders want Ecowas and their countries to succeed, they can make it happen. Each place gets the type of leaders it earns.
Ecowas must fix its big problems, but the Alliance of Sahel States army leaders shouldn't blame Ecowas for all the leadership, safety, and colonial problems in their lands.
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger call themselves the Alliance of Sahel States. They try very hard to leave Ecowas. Guinea has army leaders who take a long time to let normal people vote again.
People pay attention to these four countries, but four other Ecowas countries have growing problems.
In October, people in Cote d'Ivoire will vote for a president. Nobody knows what will happen, just like last time in 2020. President Alassane Ouattara is 83 years old. He says he wants to keep being president, even though his party hasn't picked a candidate yet.
Ouattara said before he would step down if his old enemies stopped working in politics. If he runs again, many people will say this is his fourth time trying to be president. In the Ecowas area, when leaders try to stay for three terms, it often causes big fights.
The Gambia might have trouble soon because President Adama Barrow really wants to win the 2026 election. In January 2017, Ecowas had to use soldiers to end Yahya Jammeh's mean 22-year rule.
President Barrow should focus on improving The Gambia. Instead, he still uses the old 1997 rules from Jammeh's time. He wants Ecowas to let him create a special court to judge crimes from the Jammeh years. But he also brought some Jammeh helpers into his team to win the last election.
Barrow started a group to write new rules in 2017. They gave him a draft in September 2020. His government threw away that work and focused on winning the 2021 election. A new draft came to Parliament only in December 2024. People must vote on it before the 2026 election, and Barrow says he will run again.
February 2025 matters a lot for Guinea Bissau and Togo. Togo will have a weird Senate election on February 15, 2025. The election boss let people send in names until January 7, 2025.
Smart people call this election "Keeping the Gnassingbé Family in Power." President Faure Gnassingbé took over from his dad in 2005. In March 2024, Togo's parliament, full of Faure's friends, voted 87-0 to change the rules. People can't vote for their leader directly anymore.
The new rules create a powerful job called President of the Council of Ministers. Parliament members pick this person, and they act like a prime minister with lots of power. Since Faure's party has the most seats, he will get this job. They rushed an election in April 2024, and his party won 108 of 113 seats.
The February 15 Senate elections will create a new part of Togo's law-making group. Local leaders pick 75% of these Senate members, and the rest come from the President of the Council of Ministers. This person can serve for six years, not five like the current president, and can keep running forever.
These changes break Ecowas rules, but nobody stops the Faure government. Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey even said his country might join the Alliance of Sahel States. This might be a trick to keep Ecowas from scolding Togo.
Guinea Bissau has problems, as President Umaro Embalo makes things harder for Ecowas. Embalo's term as president ends February 27, 2025, and only magic can stop him from staying longer. He closed the country's parliament more than a year ago. The election group and highest court don't work anymore, and Ecowas leaders don't say anything about Embalo's actions, either.
Ecowas leaders who break the rules feel brave because their friends don't tell them to stop. This has been happening for more than ten years in Ecowas, which turns 50 in May.
Ecowas did many good things in Africa, but bossy leaders who didn't follow the rules hurt it badly. We need to think about what West Africa would be like without Ecowas keeping peace.
Ghana's new President, John Mahama, did a good thing. He named a Special Helper to talk with the Alliance of Sahel States. His work should fit with what Ecowas tries to do.
The team of Faure Gnassingbe and Senegal's President Diomaye Faye can't fix problems with the Alliance countries. We need better people to help.
The African Union meeting in Addis Ababa gives Ecowas leaders a chance to discuss security, money, and leadership problems. Nigeria's Ambassador Bankole Adeoye keeps his job as AU Commissioner of Political Affairs, Peace, and Security. Ghana's Ambassador Amma Twum-Amoah becomes Commissioner of Health, Humanitarian Affairs, and Social Development. Both come from West Africa, which helps Ecowas.
People in Ecowas countries must change their leaders' behavior. The saying "power belongs to the people" makes sense everywhere.
The people of Burkina Faso kicked out President Blaise Compaoré without using guns. They made him leave in 2014. People in Liberia, Senegal, and Ghana changed their governments by voting and making sure votes counted right.
Voters who sell votes or vote just because of tribe or religion cause problems. People who don't join in politics but expect others to fix things have no right to complain. Each country gets the kind of leaders it earns.
People hold all the power in government. If Ecowas leaders want Ecowas and their countries to succeed, they can make it happen. Each place gets the type of leaders it earns.
Ecowas must fix its big problems, but the Alliance of Sahel States army leaders shouldn't blame Ecowas for all the leadership, safety, and colonial problems in their lands.
