ABUJA, Nigeria — West African lawmakers have warned that the region’s worsening security crisis cannot be resolved without bringing breakaway Sahel nations back to the negotiating table.
At the conclusion of the ECOWAS Parliament’s ordinary session in Abuja, members urged the regional bloc to sustain intense diplomatic engagement with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
The three junta-led nations dramatically withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) earlier this year. Still, MPs insist the trio remains central to defeating the Islamist insurgencies tearing through the sub-region.
A Shared Border, A Shared Threat
Despite the political rift, lawmakers stressed that geography and security realities mean the region cannot simply cut ties with the Sahel.
“Whatever happens in those countries affects all of us,” said Dominic Napara, an ECOWAS MP from Ghana. “Terrorism is a common enemy, and we must work together to confront it.”
Mr. Napara noted that the spillover from the Sahel conflict is already threatening coastal states like Ghana and Benin, alongside regional heavyweight Nigeria. The parliament has now formally pushed the ECOWAS Commission and regional heads of state to maintain critical protocols on trade, transit corridors, and the free movement of people, despite the ongoing diplomatic freeze.
The Complex Crisis
The crisis in the Sahel has become one of the most pressing challenges for West Africa, with large swathes of territory falling to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State-linked groups.
The parliament’s political affairs committee has forwarded a list of urgent recommendations to the ECOWAS Commission to manage the fallout.
The key challenges identified include:
- Porous Borders: Difficulty in tracking militant movements across newly drawn political divides.
- Economic Chokeholds: Protecting vital transport and trade routes that landlocked Sahel nations rely on.
- Humanitarian Fallout: Managing the millions of displaced civilians fleeing the conflict zones into neighbouring states.
“Even if they are no longer part of ECOWAS, they remain our neighbours,” added Gambian MP Amodu Camara. “Whatever affects them will affect the citizens we represent.”
Push for a Stronger Parliament
The crisis has also exposed structural weaknesses within ECOWAS itself. Currently, the regional parliament only holds advisory powers, leaving the enforcement of security and political resolutions to national presidents and ministers.
Mr. Camara used the session to call for sweeping institutional reforms, arguing that members of the ECOWAS Parliament should be directly elected by citizens rather than appointed from national assemblies.
Lawmakers believe giving the regional house full legislative powers would make it more accountable and allow it to respond more aggressively to regional emergencies.
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