The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a group of 15 countries in West Africa that work together in politics and business. ECOWAS is made up of the ECOWAS Commission, the Community Court of Justice, the Community Parliament, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), the West African Health Organization (WAHO), and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in West Africa (GIABA). The ECOWAS works in French, English, and Portuguese, all official languages. In French, it is referred to as the Communauté économique des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, and in Portuguese, it is called Comunidade Económica dos Estados da África Ocidental. They both use the same abbreviation, which is CEDEAO.
ECOWAS is one of the leading regional groups of the African Economic Community (AEC), which covers the whole continent. Its goal is to help its member states reach “collective self-sufficiency” by creating a single large trade bloc and a full economic and trading union. With the signing of the Treaty of Lagos on May 28, 1975, the union was created, and its goal was to make the region’s economies work better together. On July 24, 1993, people in Cotonou agreed on and signed a new version of the treaty. The ECOWAS is also a peacekeeping force in the region. When political instability or unrest occurs in one of the bloc’s member countries, member states sometimes send joint military forces to help.
As of February 2017, there are 15 member states of ECOWAS. Eight speak French, five speak English, and two speak Portuguese. Except for Cape Verde, who joined in 1977, all of the current members joined as founding members in May 1975. The only country that used to be a part of ECOWAS but is no longer is Arabic-speaking Mauritania. It was one of the founding members in 1975 and left in December 2000. In August 2017, Mauritania signed a new agreement to become an associate member. In February 2017, Morocco officially asked to join the ECOWAS. At a meeting of heads of state in June 2017, the application was approved in principle, but Morocco’s bid to join was put on hold.
Mali was kicked out of ECOWAS on May 30, 2021, after its second military coup in less than a year; Guinea was also taken off the list on September 8, 2021, after a military coup there. Both countries were hit with sanctions on September 16. Mali said on January 10, 2022, that it would close its borders and call back several ECOWAS ambassadors in response to sanctions for putting off elections for four years. A military coup in Burkina Faso on January 28, 2022, led to the country being kicked out of ECOWAS.
Past and Present ECOWAS Chairmen
Yakubu Gowon (1975–1975)
Yakubu Gowon is a former Nigerian military general. He presided over the Nigerian Civil War as head of state and gave the “no victor, no vanquished” address to promote healing and peace. Some accuse Yakubu Gowon of crimes against humanity and genocide during the Nigerian Civil War. He says he did nothing wrong during the war and saved the country. Gowon, a Nigerian nationalist and an Anglican Christian, comes from a minority Ngas family in Northern Nigeria; he is a firm believer in Nigeria’s oneness and togetherness. Yakubu Gowon’s ascent to power in July 1966 solidified military control in Nigeria. He was Nigeria’s longest-serving head of state, governing for nearly nine years until Brigadier Murtala Mohammed overthrew him in 1975. Yakubu Gowon served as Ecowas chairman until July 29 1975.
Gnassingbé Eyadéma (1975–1977)
Gnassingbé Eyadéma was Togo’s president from 1967 until 2005. His son, Faure Gnassingbé, replaced him. Eyadéma came into office in April 1967 after two successful military coups in 1963 and 1967. As president, he formed the Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) and led an anti-communist single-party state until the early 1990s. His leadership was challenged in the early 1990s, but he consolidated power and won multiparty presidential elections in 1993, 1998, and 2003. The opposition boycotted the 1993 election and regarded the 1998 and 2003 results as illegitimate. Eyadéma was Africa’s longest-ruler when he died. He was Ecowas chairman from 1975 until 1977.
Olusegun Obasanjo (1977–1979)
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo is a prominent figure in Nigerian politics and the military. He led the country from 1976 to 1979 and from 1999 to 2007. From September 13, 1977, to September 30, 1979, Olusegun Obasanjo presided over Ecowas as its chairman. Politically active since 1999, he joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before switching to the African Democratic Congress in 2018. (ADC).
Léopold Sédar Senghor (1979–1980)
Léopold Sédar Senghor was a poet, politician, and cultural theorist from Senegal. Senghor created an authoritarian single-party state in Senegal; he founded the Senegalese Democratic Bloc. He was the country’s first president (1960–80). He parted with Senegal’s Prime Minister Mamadou Dia and imprisoned him for 12 years on charges of inciting a coup. Senghor was the first African member of the French Academy. He earned Italy’s 1985 Nonino Prize. He’s considered one of the 20th century’s most influential African intellectuals. Léopold Sédar Senghor was chairman of Ecowas from September 30, 1979, to December 31, 1980.