Said El Mansour Cherkaoui
ECOWAS wanted to run faster than the train of change crossing the region and they started singing faster than the music, now they can sell their musical instruments “Diplomyopique – Myopic Diplomacy” to the West before they oxidize and rust and relearn how to sing like a Griot and play the Kora, to harmonize with ancestral African wisdom.
ECOWAS, like any organization, should have taken into account the history, culture, and aspirations of the people it represents. The Songhai Empire, with its cultural richness and historical influence, offers valuable lessons for modern diplomacy.
CEDEAO “Diplomyopique – Diplomatie Myope” a l’Occidental
La CEDEAO a voulu courir plus vite que le train de changement traversant la région et ils ont commencée a chanter plus vite que la musique, maintenant ils peuvent vendre leurs instruments de musique “Diplomyopique – Diplomatie Myope” a l’occidental avant qu’ils oxident et rouillent et réapprendre a chanter comme un Griot et jouer la … Lire la suite de
“Diplomyopic”: Myopic diplomacy, which neglects historical and cultural roots, can lead to slippage and imbalances.
ECOWAS should consider how to harmonize its actions with ancestral African wisdom. Like a Griot playing the Kora, she could find a balance between tradition and modernity, between local rhythms and global melodies, and carefully navigate this African diplomatic concert, avoiding dissonance and playing melodies that resonate with the expectations of the people of the Sahel.
Diplomacy should not be a rat race, but rather a deliberate dance where every step counts.
On September 16, 2023, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger created the Alliance of Sahel States, a regional collective defense organization. According to the founding document, “the violation of the sovereignty or territorial integrity of one or more members of the charter will be considered an aggression against all parties and will require their assistance, individually.
On January 28, 2024, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger announced their joint decision to withdraw as soon as possible from ECOWAS, which they consider to be “under the influence of foreign powers, which has become a threat to Member States and their peoples. »
The creation of the AES occurred against a backdrop of numerous coups in the region and rising anti-Western sentiment in former French colonies. ECOWAS, by preferring to support fallen governments considered to be carrying out orders from Paris, is increasingly perceived in separatist countries as a puppet of Europe.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who was re-elected as ECOWAS president over the weekend, faced domestic criticism for his support for an ECOWAS intervention in neighboring Niger, with which he shares centuries of ties and a territory of 1,600 km. border.
AES states also accuse the West of not doing enough to combat the insurgency in the Sahel, one of the main drivers of military takeovers in the region.
The Nigerien head of state, General Abdourahamane Tiani, called for the creation of a “community far from the influence of foreign powers”.
“Our people have irrevocably turned their backs on ECOWAS,” Tiani said at the Sahel group meeting, rebuffing calls from the bloc to return to the fold.
The Alliance of Sahel States [AES] became a confederation of some 72 million inhabitants on Saturday, to “take a further step towards greater integration between member states”
In a statement Mr. Diop quoted by Agence France-Presse, he specified that “Our heads of state [during the summit of the Alliance of Sahel States held in Niamey on July 6, 2024] indicated that the withdrawal of the three countries from ECOWAS was irreversible. We must stop looking in the rearview mirror” while emphasizing that “Mali remains open to cooperation with ECOWAS”. The minister also spoke out against the possible introduction of visas for citizens of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger traveling to ECOWAS countries.
The price of the following always results in a slippage by excess speed for ECOWAS. AES-ECOWAS relations deteriorated considerably following the coup d’état of July 26, 2023, that brought General Tiani to power.
The American army announced on July 7, 2024 that it had completed the withdrawal of its troops from Niger, a month before the German military contingent did the same.
Niger’s new ruling military regime canceled treaties with its Western allies after sharply criticizing last year’s coup, which deposed democratically elected Mohamed Bazoum.
“The Ministry of Defense of Niger and the American Department of Defense announce that the withdrawal of American forces and equipment from Base 101 in Niamey is now complete,” the two countries indicated in a joint press release.
Attempt to Control by ECOWAS the Slippage of “Diplomyopic – Myopic Diplomacy”
ECOWAS is behind in notes and score harmony and politically and diplomatically behind as it is in this politically incorrect photo
On July 7, 2024, the ECOWAS leadership asked the presidents of Senegal and Togo to speak with the leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to try to bring them back into the ranks of the community. The New Senegalese President is sent with such a message or else he will be put in a cacophonous concert having no place to be heard and not playing with instruments that he recently used to get elected as the first young president in Africa.
Senegalese President Basirou Diomaye Faye was not born when ECOWAS was created and is being asked to reunify the bloc divided by coups. The Senegalese president was chosen at the ECOWAS summit as envoy to reach out to separatist states for reconciliation. Sources say his Togolese counterpart, Faure Gnassingbé, also worked behind the scenes as a negotiator between ECOWAS and the AES.
ECOWAS has not thought about the History of the Songhai Empire and the Will for Freedom of the People of the Sahel which extends from the Atlantic to the Red Sea. Now ECOWAS sees Blue, White and Red without the Sahel countries.
ECOWAS Achieves Its Uncontrolled and Displaced Diplomyopic Slippage
ECOWAS then took heavy economic sanctions against Niger and threatened to intervene militarily to restore the deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, to his functions. The sanctions have since been lifted in February, but relations between the two camps remain frosty, despite calls from certain presidents – Senegalese and Mauritanian in particular – to renew dialogue.
The ECOWAS grouping of West African countries has warned that the region faces “disintegration” after three military leaders cemented their own separatist union over the weekend.
The parallel meetings of ECOWAS, on July 7, 2024 in Abuja, and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) – comprising Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – in Niamey, the capital of Niger, revealed on Saturday the July 8, 2024 growing fissures within the unstable group, pitting neighbors against each other.
By Dr. Said El Mansour Cherkaoui
Additional Reading:
Reasons and implications of the withdrawal of countries from the Alliance of Sahel States from ECOWAS – By Moritié Camara, Full Professor of History of International Relations, Alassane Ouattara University (Ivory Coast) – February 2, 2024
