The Ecowas Protocol, Emerging Military Threats and the Relapse of Democracy in West Africa: Lessons from Cote D´Lvoire and Niger Republic.

Abstract

Several scholars of International diplomacy and policy analysis (Zounmenou and Loua, 2011 Gbeho, 2011, Erunke 2012; Bah and Kwesi, 2012) have attempted to redefine the increasing roles of the Economic Community of  West Africa (ECOWAS), which has of late, traversed the confines of regional economic growth and stability, regional cooperation and trade linkage between and amongst member states within the west Africa sub-region to a more or less political and security concerns. This is ideological persuasion by intelligentsia is informed by the need to expand the socio- economic horizon of the sub-regional group to encompass diverse interests, engender  and deepen democratic space, instil good corporate  governance and ultimately guarantee continuity in constitutionally sanctioned governance pattern in Africa in line with international best standards and practices. Consequently, the emerging trends of military interregnum and mindless intervention through the barrel of the gun (which of course, is considered to be a culpable aberration) no longer finds a pride of place in the minds and hearts of all well meaning democracy and patriots alike. Hence the dire need and unequivocal quest for a constitutionally validated system of governmental operations in all its contents and character. This tendency informs the distaste for military autocracy, dictatorship and other Unitarianism and the entire philosophies it proclaims, and any attempt to plunge the West African enclave to this ugly monumental soldiering stands to be vigorously resisted with every sense of concern and vindictiveness. However, of recent past the entire Africa state system appears to have relapsed and wondered backward towards the path of the old order of coup d’etat, which is a characteristic of the continental albatross dating back to the early days and years of the  emergence of colonialism in the 1960s (Erunke and Lemun,2012). Thus, the defining ideologies of this political era, which was literally domineering, exploitative and repugnant to fundamental social change raised a lot of critical questions in the sub-consciousness of pan - Africanists - the likes of Kwame Nkurumah of Ghana, Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, W.E.B Du Bois of the black American Negro world, to mention but a few. These radical scholars therefore constituted arrow heads who fought gallantly for the freedom and emancipation of Africa and African Diaspora from the tutelage of slavery (Erunke and Lemun, 2012), therefore fostering the quest for self-determination of the entire black race. Nonetheless the freedom sought for was to help locate and redefine African path to greatness through group consciousness, regional integration and cooperation geared towards setting up widely acceptable group values in the interest of the entire region, nay, continent (Bah and Kwesi, 2012).  Aside form the socio-economic dynamics of ECOWAS as an institution, there has been an increasing push to diversify these roles beyond economic integration to matters of politics which has constituted the determining force in the sub-region. Politics in the wider usage here incorporates issues of war, peace, conflict resolution, dialogue and the entire gamut revolving around the preservation of the dictates of the constitution of the land to avoid undue pressures from social forces within the system. Significantly, Loua and Zoumenou (2011) then argued further that first, in 1991, ECOWAS adopted a declaration on political principles that took into consideration governance issues as a way of intensifying peace, guide the constitution of member states as well as enhance security efforts.  However, the declaration was never, fully implemented as its scope was limited and hence, lacked critical political support.  Moreover, on 24^th July, 1993,   ECOWAS reviewed its founding Treaty in Cotonou and in 1999, it adopted a protocol relating to the mechanisms for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peace-keeping, Security and democratic stability, respectively.  It can be argued here by way of observation that all of these developments constituted the institutional and normative transformation   process of the organization as far as peace, security and democratic stability is concerned.  By extension, however, it can be said that there are a number of innovations in the revised treaty. 

Nevertheless, the principle of gradually introducing super nationality to the implementation of community decisions was one of the major changes introduced. For example, in the preamble of the treaty, ECOWAS leaders stated that the integration of member states into a viable regional community may demand the partial and gradual pooling of national sovereignties to the community within the context of the collective political will (Loua et al, 2011). It follows logically that the incorporation of a security dimension in the integration project and the bold stance taken so far to address issues of governance and political instability to adopt to changing environments and realities is an attempt to play an effective role in the transformation of West Africa from a poor and war-ridden region to a politically stable entity devoid of military interruption and intervention thereby proposing the region to a socio-economically and politically prosperous entity. It is in the light of this context that the next focus of this paper dwells.