SHAKEN ECOWAS LIFTS NIGER SANCTIONS

ECOWAS blinked first in the struggle between the regional political and economic bloc and the newly-formed Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Sanctions imposed on the latter group following Niger’s July 26th coup against Western ally Mohamed Bazoum have been lifted. They involve reopening border crossings with Niger and reconnecting the country’s financial infrastructure to ECOWAS.

While ECOWAS says the sanctions relief is inspired by humanitarian needs, the main underlying reason seems to be the AES’s departure from ECOWAS, which sent shockwaves across the region. Nigeria and ECOWAS president Bola Tinubu urged Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to “reconsider the decision” and said they should “not perceive our organisation as the enemy”. Previously, Tinubu had labelled the AES as being “a phantom push-back alliance”.

For their part, the AES stated that the lifting of sanctions comes too little too late. Burkina Faso’s transitional leader, Ibrahim Traore, recently lambasted ECOWAS, reminding its leaders that power cuts to Niger resulted in countless and needless deaths in Nigerien hospitals, thus.

The withdrawal of the AES from ECOWAS will have far reaching economic consequences for the latter organization. In that vein, there’s no surprise as to why spirited attempts are being made to welcome the trio back into the club. The three AES countries comprise roughly half of ECOWAS in land size, and are well-endowed in terms of resources such as gold, oil, livestock and uranium. France, the former settler colonial power in the region, has and, in some ways, continues to be the biggest beneficiaries of these resources.