As the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, a former member of the Parliament and now Majority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament, Mahama Ayariga believes the sub-regional blocs experiment would have been a very good example, if one or two member states were a very good example for the rest of the member states.
According to him, ideally, Nigeria with its economic capacity, military might, and resources would have helped to ensure discipline within the sub-region.
“Nigeria with its size as a market and population; with its natural resources endowment would have been the anchor for a very successful sub-regional organisation both in terms of military might, resources, and ensuring discipline, helping out brothers and sisters when they are in trouble and opening up their market so that industries would emerge in others, then they would benefit from the Nigeria market and keep the economy of others doing well whiles Nigeria would also benefit. But because, Nigeria has not really lived up to expectation, the sub-region has been challenged.”
Contributing to a commemorative statement on ECOWAS @50 on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, made by Hon Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, Mr. Mahama Ayariga noted that Ghana is emerging as a sub-regional leader, but of course Ghana is challenged because it does not have the advantage of population, and resources endowment like Nigeria.
The advantage of market like Nigeria and its military capabilities definitely cannot be compared to Ghana, “yet, Ghana is the country, I believe that has the moral authority within the sub-region today to offer leadership; that leadership is being offered given our commitment as one of the founding fathers not of ECOWAS alone but of the African Union. I believe that we would be able to do whatever we can to bring the sub-region together. Overall, we have done well as ECOWAS; there are challenges, serious threats now but I am very much convinced that as a sub-region, we would rise up to the occasion.
“In addition we would mend our fences, we would re-unit, re organize; we would make a more spirited efforts to entrench democracy. We would share and open up our market, we would be each other’s keeper because that was the founding principles that guided our leaders when they met fifty years ago to sign that we should form a common market, a union of a sub-region of Africa”.
Source: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/EcowasNewsOnline.com
