Social Conflicts Threatening ECOWAS’ Integration Objectives, Says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has said the persisting social conflicts in most countries of West Africa are negatively affecting the sub-region’s capacity to achieve integration which he said was the major goal of forming the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The president who was represented by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo at the fourth Plenary Assembly of Reunion of Episcopal Conference of West Africa (RECOWA) holding at the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja, said the spate of conflicts and violence around the countries’ borders put considerable pressure on the ability of the affected countries to drive their political and economic activities.

He said: “All our efforts to integrate our Community have been thwarted not just by external forces, and I am concerned about the sovereignty of our countries and they have also resulted in a situation where social conflicts in our nation and around our borders have critically affected our capacity to truly integrate things the way that we wish.

“Internal crisis and social conflicts around borders have created a situation where today in our region we will say is passing a season of considerable political, economic and social turmoil.

“Terrorism and violent conflicts, banditry affect many of our nations, especially the Sahel region.”

The Vice President said in the aftermath of the outbreak of COVID-19, many of the economies of the West African countries have been weakened while unemployment escalated with the attendant poverty.

He also stated that, “peace cannot reign in our region if it does not first reign in countries and communities.

“Since 2017, there have been 12 military coups in Africa. And half of them have occurred since 2020. Historical, in times like this, parochial prejudices are heightened and the fabric of cohesion in the society becomes frayed as people retreat into ethnic, religious and other nativist camps.

“And those who do not speak our language or subscribe to our faith come under great suspicion and soon they become scapegoats for all our challenges and ethnic, religious and separatist conflicts arise. In all of these, the ideal of an integrated, peaceful and prosperous sub-region remains almost impossible,” he said.

Osinbajo said the concept behind the theme of the conference, “Fratelli Tutti: Path to Build Brotherhood and Sustainable Peace in West Africa,” for which Pope Francis had written about, is a concept of the brotherhood of all humanity.

He said the federal government was committed to collaborating with the Church and all well-meaning actors in promoting peace and security.

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

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