Ex-President Jonathan opens up on recurring coups in West Africa

Former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan has bemoaned the recurring coups within the West African subregion as a threat to democracy.

Jonathan stated this at a two-day ECOWAS Council of the Wise (CoW) Strategic Retreat and Planning Workshop on Monday.

He said, “Sub-regions have faced unsavoury developments that have continued to pose a challenge to the peace, security, and sustainable development of West Africa.

“Within the last two years, we have witnessed three military coups in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso as well as coup attempts in Niger and Guinea Bissau.

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“This development poses a serious threat to democracy in ECOWAS, especially at a time that onslaught of militants and terrorists across the Sahel and frontline countries have worsened the security situation in the sub-region.

“The ECOWAS Commission and the Authority of Heads of State and governments have been working hard to restore peace and constitutionality in troubled member nations and return ECOWAS to the days of glory,’’ he said.

The former president noted that CoW’s task was a challenging one which required playing active roles in mediation and consultations to prevent and resolve conflicts.

He added that the CoW should be in a position to catalyse an engagement process that would deepen the roots of democracy in the sub-regions.

“The meeting will be for debriefing and brainstorming on strategies for CoW to swiftly respond to, and mitigate the growing peace and security challenges in the region.

“We will undertake a comprehensive briefing on the ECOWAS early mechanisms and develop modalities for the operationalisation of the Council and members to jointly develop and validate a one-year plan of action,’’ the former president added.