The Community of West African States (ECOWAS), although cited as an example by the South African Cyril Ramaphosa, nevertheless has problems with its putschist heads of state, with whom it fails to agree on the duration of the political transitions which must lead to open elections for the return of power to civilians. Taking into account the order of occurrence of the takeover by arms, whether with the eldest, Colonel of the Malian army Assimi Goïta, capped by two coups d’etat in less than two years, or the youngest, the Guinean colonel Mamadi Doumbouya or even the youngest, the Burkinabè lieutenant-colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the big ECOWAS family no longer knows where to turn with its putschist children.
Failing to be able to make them apply the classic tariff of 18 months at most to return power to civilians, the sub-regional organization will undoubtedly be forced to proceed on a case-by-case basis. Despite its drastic sanctions once morest Mali, provoked by the trickery of the new masters of Bamako who have spent time cunningly using the principles of the organization, ECOWAS has not succeeded in bringing back into the ranks the lost son who, visibly, has chose warmongering logic.
To a lesser extent, Guinea, which is going at its own pace, without providing a precise timetable for the duration of its transition, seems more receptive to the interventions of ECOWAS which has not failed, from the start, to display, as in Mali and Burkina Faso, its desire to support countries ruled by military juntas, to find the rails of democracy. As for Burkina Faso, following national meetings which have, officially in any case, granted 3 years of transition to the transitional government, it must first try to reduce the terrorist attacks to their simplest expression, bring home the more than one million displaced populations, restore the administration in the localities where it no longer exists, reopen the schools and health centers closed or burned down by the forces of evil, etc.
This is why the country has asked to host a purely military technical team to assess the security situation there and another to do the same on the political level. However, if we must recognize that elections cannot be held in this climate where attacks by unidentified armed men are multiplying and sowing tears and desolation on a daily basis, in addition to causing food and humanitarian crises, we must also demand soldiers to find the appropriate strategies, for which they were trained elsewhere, to bring peace of mind to Burkina.
More than ever, failing to accept losing for good its children who have strayed from the right path, ECOWAS must now learn to handle sticks and carrots. This same ECOWAS which is also not exempt from all reproach, it which practices with culpable ease, the policy of the ostrich, burying its head deeply in the sand, when Heads of State, admittedly democratically elected, excellent in bad governance and that others fiddle with the constitution to carve out 3rd terms, ready to walk in the blood of their compatriots to reach the presidential chair and keep it ad vitam aeternam.
In any case, and it is an understatement to say it, West Africa is at a crossroads. Worse, the sub-region is no longer in time to look for the culprits, but to go hunting for urgent and efficient solutions.
Par Wakat Sera
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