ABSTRACT
In the African context, the sub-regional organization which arguably has the most robust security mechanism is ECOWAS. Founded by the Lagos Treaty in May 1975, ECOWAS was conceived as a means toward economic integration and development intended to lead to the eventual establishment of an economic union in West Africa, fostering economic stability and enhancing relations between its member states.1
Since it was launched as a traditional customs union regime, ECOWAS has grown to become a robust organization designed to meet challenges beyond those presented by a tariff-harmonization scheme. In reality, ECOWAS was an attempt to overcome the isolation of most West African countries following the colonial period and the period of post-independence nationalism. In the decade after independence, West Africa was jolted by a series of bloody military coups against constitutional governments, a three-year civil war in Nigeria, inter-state wars, extra-regional interventions and a spate of foreign-backed mercenary activities in Guinea, Benin, and Cape Verde, which compelled Western African leaders to consider regional integration schemes.2 In practice, however, ECOWAS was meant to provide an institutional framework for Nigeria’s leadership and the erosion of France’s political and economical influence.3 In 1973 France provided political capital for the creation of the all-Francophone West African Economic Community (CEAO), which according to French president Georges Pompidou would serve to counter-balance the heavy weight of Nigeria,4 a country that after the discovery of oil and the 1973 crisis converted itself into a major power. The creation of ECOWAS, spearheaded by Nigerian president General Yakubu Gowon and President Eyadema of Togo (with observer status in CEAO), was thus an upshot of Nigeria’s regional leadership. ECOWAS has developed in a very volatile context. The diversity of
West Africa is reflected in its history with a Francophone, Anglophone
and Lusophone colonial divide, and socio-cultural, ethnic, and linguistic differences. Moreover, as McGowan and Johnson noted, West Africa is the region par excellence of the military coup d’etat. According to them the sub-region accounted for 55 percent of all coups d’état in Africa in the period 1960-1984.5 Francis adds that West Africa is therefore a regional conflict complex because armed conflicts are not just confined and localized within state borders, but the regional dimensions and dynamics often fuel and sustain these wars through the activities of the shadow economy and peace spoilers.6 Even so, ECOWAS has successfully managed to become the most dominant sub-regional organization in sub-Saharan Africa.7
