The escalating security crises and a series of successful and attempted military takeovers in West Africa have plunged the region into a state of emergency, according to a top official from the regional bloc.
Omar Touray, president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, addressed the bloc’s mediation and security council just two days after a failed coup attempt in Benin. This incident follows a recent string of military seizures of power, including one last month in Guinea-Bissau that ousted former President Umaro Embalo.
In a related development on the same day, Nigeria’s Senate approved a request from President Bola Tinubu to send troops to Benin at the request of the Beninese government. Nigeria had previously conducted airstrikes against armored vehicles during the recent attempted coup there, also following a request from Benin’s government.
“Events of the last few weeks have shown the imperative of serious introspection on the future of our democracy and the urgent need to invest in the security of our community, faced with this situation, Excellencies, it is safe to declare that our community is in a state of emergency.”
Speaking about the recent unrest, Touray emphasized that the events highlight the necessity for serious reflection on the future of democracy and the urgent need for investment in regional security. Given the current circumstances, he formally announced that the ECOWAS community is effectively in a state of emergency.
The regional bloc has been criticized for its inconsistent response to the various coups that have taken place in recent years. This recent declaration by Touray is seen by some, like Ulf Laessing of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, as an effort to restore the bloc’s credibility, especially after a threatened military intervention in Niger in 2023 was never carried out. The concern within ECOWAS is that military coups are becoming the accepted norm in West Africa, prompting the organization to demonstrate a more decisive stance.
“ECOWAS is concerned that coups will become the new mainstream in West Africa,” Laessing reiterates. “Now they try to show they mean business.”
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