The growing wave of military coups across West Africa may no longer be something the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) can easily stop, according to one of the bloc’s top security officials, who says global power shifts have dramatically weakened the regional body’s influence.
Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, warned that the organisation’s traditional methods of forcing military regimes back to civilian rule are becoming increasingly ineffective under today’s multipolar world order.
Speaking during regional consultations ahead of a planned summit on the future of West African integration, Musah responded to concerns from ECOWAS parliamentarians over the repeated military takeovers that have shaken countries including Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger in recent years.
According to him, ECOWAS once possessed enough diplomatic and political influence to quickly isolate coup leaders and compel them to restore democratic rule. But that leverage, he argued, has weakened significantly as global powers now compete for influence across Africa.
Musah pointed to Mali’s 2012 coup as an example of a time when ECOWAS interventions still carried considerable weight.
