At a joint press conference in Abidjan on Wednesday, Côte d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara and Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama urged the military-led governments of the three Sahelian nations to restore ties with the bloc after their withdrawal on January 29, 2025.
Mahama pledges to mediate talks
President Mahama, who was on an official visit to Côte d’Ivoire, offered to act as a “bridge” between ECOWAS and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)—a new confederation formed by the three countries.
“To see how we see how we can work with them so that they not only remain within our subregion, but also do the transition to constitutional democracy,” Mahama stated.
His proposal comes after multiple ECOWAS mediation efforts, led by Togo and Senegal, failed to prevent the breakaway, with military regimes in Bamako, Ouagadougou, and Niamey declaring their departure “irreversible”.
Despite this, Mahama expressed his commitment to regional stability and pledged to personally engage with the three nations.
“There’s more that unites us than divides us,” he remarked, adding that he intends to visit Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger soon to encourage dialogue.
ECOWAS seeks unity amid regional security concerns
President Ouattara supported Mahama’s diplomatic overtures, expressing hope that the message of reconciliation would resonate with the Sahelian leaders.
“I hope that President Mahama’s appeal will be heard by these three brother countries, that we can continue together within ECOWAS,” Ouattara said.
The departure of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger from ECOWAS followed a series of military coups between 2020 and 2023. Their decision was partly driven by grievances over ECOWAS’ response to political instability, including economic sanctions and threats of military intervention after Niger’s coup in July 2023.
The trio also accused the bloc of failing to adequately support their fight against jihadist insurgencies, while criticising its perceived alignment with France, the former colonial power with whom they share increasingly strained relations.
Strengthening security and economic cooperation
Beyond regional diplomacy, Ouattara and Mahama also discussed defence, security, and the cocoa economy, recognising the shared economic interests of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire—two of the world’s largest cocoa producers.
Mahama reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to assisting its neighbours in tackling extremist threats, warning that regional instability could have far-reaching consequences.
“We’re prepared to help them to fight terrorism because in our country, we all know that when your neighbour’s house is on fire, you have to help him to quench it before it spreads into your own compound,” he said.
As ECOWAS leaders seek to mend fractured alliances, all eyes will be on Mahama’s planned visits to the breakaway nations in the coming weeks, a move that could determine whether diplomacy can rebuild the region’s once-unified economic and security framework.
Source: graphic.com.gh
