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Guinea rejects Ecowas sanctions against Mali amid rumbling UN power tussle

Guinea’s ruling Committee for National Restoration has dissociated the country from the unprecedented financial, economic and border blockage imposed on Mali by ECOWAS on 9 January.

There is reported intense power game playing out at the UN Security Council pitting France/Western allies against Russia/China over Mali, while the military-dominated Interim Authority in Bamako has called for a nationwide demonstration on Friday against what it called “extreme sanctions” imposed by ECOWAS on the country with some 19 million people.

Apart from the declared Guinean solidarity with Mali, Algeria, another Malian neighbour is believed to have also thrown its weight behind Mali.

The Guinea ruling Committee in a Communique recalled that ECOWAS suspended Guinea from all regional institutions in September 2021 following a military coup that month.

Consequently, the Committee said that Guinea could therefore not associate itself with the regional sanctions, adding that the country’s land, sea and air borders would remain open to all friendly nations in line with Pan-African solidarity.

The Communique further said that Guinea would continue to respect all international agreements and obligations.

There are also unconfirmed reports that the Col. Assimi Goita-led Bamako regime could demand the withdrawal of ECOWAS member States’ personnel from the UN Mission in Mali, MINUSMA.

ECOWAS nations and Chad account for about 70% of the MINUSMA personnel. The UN Mission has been in Mali since 2013 as part of the international fight against terrorism, albeit without much success.

Algeria, in an effort to keep terrorists and armed jihadists outside its territory has a vested interest in the political stability of Mali. Algiers hosted the signing of the Peace Accord by Malian protagonists in 2015.

Like Mali, Guinea is under military rule following the coup that toppled the government of elected President Alpha Conde in September 2021 after changing the national constitution to elongate his tenure.

The Col Mamady Doumbouya-led ruling military Committee in Conakry has yet to announce a transition timetable, ignoring ECOWAS’ six-month timeline given to it.

Some critics believe that the ECOWAS unprecedented blockage of Mali was instigated by Paris to punish the junta for daring to lean towards another super power for military support.

France, which has made no secret of its opposition to Russian military presence in Mali is currently reducing its forces supporting the fight against terrorism and insurrections in the Sahel region including Mali.

The Mali junta accuses France of abandonment and defends the country’s sovereign rights to seek support from any quarters to deal with insecurity crippling the nation.

Meanwhile, it was reported that before the ECOWAS Sunday summit in Accra, the Col. Goita-led junta had suggested a modified 24-month transition timetable, which was dismissed because the Francophone Economic and Monetary Union UEMOA, had already taken a “common position” against Mali.

Furthermore, the fact that Mali’s military agreement continues to figure in ECOWAS Communiqués is considered unprecedented and leaves many wondering why ECOWAS would join France in questioning a member State’s bilateral defence pact.

After 60 years of independence, African countries cannot continue to blame foreign powers for interference or their woes.
African leaders and their bad governance are the continent’s major problem.

Unfortunately, the once internationally acclaimed ECOWAS appears to be losing the capacity for independent decision and moral authority. This could mark the beginning of an end to its relevance.

Military rule remains an aberration. But only good governance not sanctions, will guarantee democracy in Mali and Africa as a whole.

African leaders must play by the rules to deliver good governance and the citizens must rise to their civic responsibilities by demanding accountability.

Paul Ejime is a Global Affairs Analyst and an Independent Consultant to International Organizations on Corporate Strategic Communications, Peace & Security and Elections.

January 12, 2022
ECOWAS Meets Again to Review Political Situation in Mali, Guinea

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is meeting again for the third time to review the political situation in two of its 15-member nations — Mali and Guinea.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo is leading the Nigerian delegation to the Extraordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government on Sunday (today) in Accra, the capital of Ghana, on the political situation in the Republics of Guinea and Mali.

According to a release issued by the Media Assistant to the Vice-President, Laolu Akande, Sunday’s extraordinary meeting, which will be the third on the same agenda this year, will assess previous resolutions and further review the political situation in the Republics of Guinea and Mali.

Osinbajo, who left Abuja earlier Sunday, accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada, is expected back in Abuja later in the day.

The vice-president had participated in the second ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit on the political situation in Guinea and Mali held on 16th September in Accra, Ghana.

Before then, he had also attended a virtual ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit held on 8th September on the same agenda.

ECOWAS leaders in the communique issued at the end of the last special summit in Accra had, amongst other resolutions, decided to freeze the financial assets of members of the military junta, place a travel ban on them, while also demanding that the junta return Guinea to constitutional rule within six months.

Nigeria’s position on the situation in Guinea had been restated by Prof. Osinbajo at the summit, calling for the unconditional release of President Alpha Condé and more pressure to be put on the country’s military leaders to return the nation to democratic rule.

The vice-president had commended the efforts of stakeholders in Mali and re-emphasized the need to strictly respect and follow the electoral timetable for transition to civil rule.

At the virtual summit earlier, Osinbajo proposed punitive measures and proactive preventive steps towards addressing military intervention in civil rule in the region, which includes that the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), Commonwealth, and other relevant or related financial institutions act in unity simultaneously “to suspend a country, where there has been seizure of power, from these bodies”.

He also proposed engagement with the military junta and all stakeholders in Guinea and the enforcement of necessary “punitive measures that will ensure that the military junta does not overstay in power”.

The vice-president further reiterated Nigeria’s position, calling on all leaders to always respect the principles of democracy and the constitutions of their respective countries.

November 7, 2021
Pressure Mali To Return To Civilian Rule, Buhari Urge ECOWAS

President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday called on West African leaders to exert pressure on the military leadership in Mali to ensure that the transition process in the country is not aborted.

He made the call in his statement delivered at the 59th Ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS in Accra, Ghana.

The Nigerian leader spoke on the situation in Mali which was recently suspended from the regional bloc due to a military coup.

“At this Summit today, we are expected to review a number of important reports dealing with various issues of concerns to our organisation and people. In doing so, we must take realistic and practical decisions which will positively impact our citizens,” he was quoted as saying in a statement by his spokesman, Garba Shehu.

President Buhari added, “Some of those decisions, necessarily will have to do with evolving political and security situations in our sub-region as well as evaluate the health of our organisation with the hope of repositioning to serve our people and sub-region better.

“While democracy continues to develop in our sub-region, recent events in Mali are sad reminders that vigilance remains a crucial imperative to protect people’s aspirations to freely choose the form of government they want.

“Pressures are needed to ensure that the transition process in Mali, which is halfway to its conclusion, is not aborted.

“A further slide in Mali could prove catastrophic to the Sub-region, considering that about half of that country is unfortunately under the grip of terrorists.”

The Nigerian leader, therefore, appealed to the military leadership in Mali to understand the critical state of their country, which he described as being ‘clearly under siege’.

Noting that the principal responsibility of the military must be to protect and guarantee the sovereignty of the West African country, the President cautioned them not to perpetuate acts that would facilitate the destabilisation and destruction of Mali.

“I urge our organization to remain engaged with all stakeholders in Mali through our astute Mediator, former President Goodluck Jonathan, who, I congratulate warmly, for his untiring efforts thus far.

“I encourage him to sustain these efforts to ensure that the transition is completed as scheduled,” he said.

A cross-section of participants at the 59th Ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS in Accra, Ghana on June 19, 2021.

On Libya, President Buhari faulted the recent United Nations Resolution to expel all foreign fighters in Libya, without first ensuring that they were disarmed.

He lamented that while the decision was aimed at bringing about sustenance of peace in Libya, non-collaboration with regional stakeholders has created newer threats to peace, security and stability in the region.

The President warned that this could lead to lack of coordinated management of huge humanitarian crisis across the Sahel, North, Central and West Africa, including the Lake Chad region.

He said, “It is imperative that ECOWAS leaders, at this Summit, decide how the UN-Sub-regional organisations partnerships should be reviewed to address the dangers that this UN Resolution poses to the region.”

The statement by the Nigerian leader at the Summit also addressed other pertinent issues of concern in the organisation, including the ongoing institutional reforms in ECOWAS.

Declaring Nigeria’s unequivocal support to the reforms process, he said he looked forward to an ECOWAS that would be ‘fit for purpose’, delivering services to the satisfaction of the community citizens.

He commended the President of the Commission and his team, the Ad-hoc Ministerial Committee on Institutional Reforms as well as the Council of Ministers for the excellent report presented to the Authority of Heads of State.

In his capacity as the ECOWAS champion on the fight against COVID-19, President Buhari also drew attention to the need for more citizens in the region to be vaccinated, stressing the need for adherence to other non-pharmaceutical interventions.

He said the West African region was in the grip of a third wave, warning against complacency in national and regional initiatives to address the pandemic.

President Buhari reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to the noble objectives of the organisation, saying, “I encourage us to take bolder steps towards ensuring that the organisation fulfils the aspirations of its founding fathers, which include a truly integrated sub-region, economically, politically, socio-culturally united and secured to permit its sustainable development and growth.”

June 19, 2021
BREAKING: Mali Ex-President Amadou Toure dies at 72

Mali’s former president Amadou Toumani Toure, who led the Sahel nation for 10 years before being ousted in a coup, has died in Turkey aged 72, a family member and a doctor said on Tuesday.

“Amadou Toumani Toure died during the night of Monday to Tuesday in Turkey,” where he had been taken for health reasons, his nephew Oumar Toure told AFP.

Details later…

November 10, 2020
BREAKING: Bah Ndaw sworn in as Mali’s transitional president following coup

Mali’s interim president, Bah Ndaw, chosen to head a transitional government following a coup last month, was sworn in during ceremonies in the capital Bamako on Friday.

A committee appointed by the junta which seized power on August 18, toppling president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, selected Ndaw, a 70-year-old retired colonel, as interim president.

Ndaw is due to lead a transition government for a maximum of 18 months before organising national elections.

Colonel Assimi Goita, who led the military junta, was also sworn in as interim vice president.

The ceremony on Friday took place in a theatre filled with officials dressed in military fatigues, senior judges, and foreign diplomats.

During the ceremony, Supreme Court Chief Prosecutor Boya Dembele said the challenges facing both men were “enormous”.

“It will truly require a reformulation of the state,” said the judge, dressed in red fur-lined robes.

The swearing-in comes as the fragile Sahel state’s neighbours have leaned on the military junta to appoint civilians as interim president and prime minister.

The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) slapped sanctions on the poor country on August 20 to push for a swift return to civilian rule.

A decision by the bloc on whether to ease the measure is possible on Friday, according to former Nigerian president and ECOWAS mediator Goodluck Jonathan.

“We are optimistic that this event will signal the beginning of the return to normalcy in Mali,” he said on Twitter on Thursday night, referring to the swearing in of interim-government leaders.

Last month’s coup followed weeks of mass protests against Keita, spurred by frustrations over a brutal jihadist conflict, perceived corruption and the country’s slumping economy.

Mali has struggled to quell an eight-year-old Islamist insurgency which has claimed thousands of military and civilian lives.

RELATED POSTS:

BREAKING: Ba N’Daou named interim Mali president, junta leader named VP

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September 25, 2020
BREAKING: Ba N’Daou named interim Mali president, junta leader named VP

Former Mali’s Defence Minister, Ba N’Daou, has been appointed as the country’s transition president.

This is as the African Union had called on the military junta in Mali to quickly appoint civilian leaders to manage an 18-month transition towards elections after last month’s coup.

The AU’s 15-member security body late Thursday echoed the West African regional bloc ECOWAS, which imposed sanctions on landlocked Mali after the coup toppled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

Junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita met with West African leaders this week in Ghana but failed to resolve a critical sticking point — whether soldiers or civilians will lead the transition.

ECOWAS called for a civilian-led transition government to be installed “in days” and said the bloc would lift its sanctions — which include closed borders and a ban on trade and financial flows — once the change has been made.

Smail Chergui, the AU’s peace and security commissioner, said on Twitter Thursday night that he was calling “for a return to constitutional order and early civilian-led transition in Mali”.

A separate Twitter post from the official AU Peace and Security Department account said it backed ECOWAS’ call for an 18-month civilian transition.

It also “welcomed” the putschists’ decision to release Keita — who was detained for more than a week — but said they should also free prime minister Boubou Cisse and “other dignitaries”.

The AU announced the day after the coup that it was suspending Mali “until restoration of constitutional order”, and it is unclear what additional leverage it has.

But a spokesman for the junta, Colonel Ismael Wague, said after this week’s talks in Ghana that Mali could face a “total embargo” from ECOWAS if it does not quickly appoint civilian leaders.

The sanctions could bite in the poor country already facing a severe economic downturn as well as a simmering jihadist insurgency and chronic inter-ethnic violence.

Wague nevertheless made clear the junta would prefer the transition be run by the military, and claimed that was also the preference of the majority of Malians.

September 21, 2020
As another section of Africa boils

By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu

A section of Africa, Mali, is boiling. As usual, on a negative note.For the umpteenth time, the vast country,stretching into the Sahara Desert , and among the poorest countries in the world, has experienced another military takeover.Mutinying soldiers ousted the country’s President,Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, with the claim that ” they plan to set up a civilian transitional government and hold new elections”.

While the spokesman for the soldiers said” they had acted to prevent the country falling further into chaos”, Keita acted gentlemanly, unlike his contemporary African leaders whose ambitions worth more than the blood of their subjects, by resigning saying “he did not want blood to be spilled to keep me in power”.

The mutiny has generated widespread condemnations, even among some African leaders who are saddled with the history of coup d’etat.

The UN Security Council has urged the immediate release of the president and his officials, while directing all troops should return to their barracks without delay.

This is as African Union (AU) 15-member security council called for the restoration of constitutional order and the release of the president and other government officials.

Recent events in Mali were not palatable and could as well spark uprising. It will be recalled that Mr Keïta won a second term in elections in 2018, but since June has faced huge street protests over corruption, the mismanagement of the economy and a dispute over legislative elections.

Also,there has also been anger among troops about pay and the conflict with jihadists.

It is equally obvious that the war in Libya, almost a decade ago is instrumental in nudging the country into chaos.

Like always the case, weapons from the warring Libya, suspectedly fueled a separatist conflict in northern Mali, which morphed into an Islamist militant offensive, which analysts believe, prompted a coup in the capital, Bamako.

So, it is not out of place to state that the coup in Mali was promoted by security challenges, corruption, disputed elections, and political drift.

On the other hand, other events trailing the coup in Mali were strong signals that the country was sitting on a keg of gun powder. For instance in 2019, Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga and his government resign following an upsurge of ethnic violence.

The ugly event was trailed by the kidnap of the opposition leader, Soumaila Cisse kidnapped as he campaigns ahead of parliamentary elections.

On 30th April this year, constitutional court overturns some parliamentary election results amid fraud allegations.
As the months go by, things began to degenerate as in May this year,opposition coalition led by popular Iman Mahmoud Dicko called for President’s Keïta’s resignation, while in June,Ecowas called for creation of a “consensus government of national unity” following massive opposition street protests.

Events came to an ugly head in July 10th as at least 10 people were killed after opposition supporters clash with security services.

Africa’s long history of ousting unpopular governments through coup d’etat is gaining prominence recently. Few years back, elements in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces gathered in the nation’s capital, Harare, and seized some major institutions in the city, including Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. This event led to the ousting of one of the Africa’s long -serving despots, Robert Mugabe.

Just like tensions currently brewing in Mali, situations in Zimbabwe prior to the ousted of Mugabe were not favourable. The centre of the conflict was who would succeed Mugabe, then 93 years.

At the centre stage of the contest were the then embattled Vice-President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was allegedly backed by the army, and Mugabe’s spouse, Grace Mugabe, who was allegedly backed by the G40 faction.

Intrigues and foul power play were let loose.A situation that led to the firing of Mnangagwa and his subsequent forced exile to South Africa. There were rumoured poisoning of Mnangagwa during an August 2017 political rally led by the president and his airlifting to a hospital in South Africa for treatment.

The question begging for urgent address in the Mali’s situation is “will the soldiers, who call themselves the ‘National Committee for the Salvation of the People’, fulfill their assurance of not staying in power?”

Will they live up to their promise thus”We are keen on the stability of the country, which will allow us to organise general elections to allow Mali to equip itself with strong institutions within the reasonable time limit”.

The whole world is watching.

August 21, 2020
Malian President, Ibrahim Keita resigns

Malian President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has resigned.

Keita, on Wednesday, said he was resigning to avoid “bloodshed,” hours after his arrest by troops.

Rebel soldiers reportedly detained Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse on Tuesday afternoon and drove the pair to a military base in the town of Kati, near the capital Bamako, which they had seized that morning.

Jubilant crowds in the city centre gathered to demand Keita’s resignation.

They cheered the rebels as they made their way to the 75-year-old’s official residence.

Keita, who appeared in a state television broadcast midnight to declare the dissolution of the government and national assembly, said he had no choice but to resign with immediate effect.

August 19, 2020
Buhari Arrives In Mali On Peace Mission

President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived in Mali on a one-day visit aimed at finding a political solution to the crisis in the country.

The President’s arrival was confirmed in a tweet by his personal assistant on new media, Mr Bashir Ahmad.

According to an earlier statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, Buhari’s planned visit followed the briefing by the ECOWAS Special Envoy to the country, former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The statement adds that President Buhari and the ECOWAS Chairman, President Issoufou Mahamadou of Niger Republic had already agreed to meet in Mali to engage in further consultations towards finding a political solution to the crisis in the country.

The two leaders are expected to be joined by the Host President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Presidents Machy Sall of Senegal, Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana and Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire respectively.

“We will ask the President of Niger, who is the Chairman of ECOWAS to brief us as a group, and we will then know the way forward,” President Buhari was quoted as saying.

July 23, 2020