Buhari: Global Economic Crisis Causing Hardship for West Africans

•Again, promises to bequeath free, fair election legacy to Nigeria, ECOWAS

•Gets sub regional parliament’s honour for promoting democracy

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that the global economic crisis has negatively impacted countries in the West African sub-region thereby causing untold hardship to its citizens.

This was just as he promised to bequeath the legacy of free and fair election to Nigerians and by extension the ECOWAS sub-region.

Declaring open the 2022 Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja, yesterday, he said the Second Session of the ECOWAS parliament would be expected to consider the Community Budget among others.

“Let me emphasise that the global economic downturn has deeply affected the economies of our sub-region and resulted in dire economic hardships for the citizens of the Community,” he added.

According to him, the ECOWAS parliament should consider its budget with diligence and bear in mind the various contributions the countries make in terms of levy.

His words: “I, therefore, urge you to perform your sacred responsibility of considering the Community budget with diligence, while bearing in mind the sacrifice of various countries in the payment of Community levy.

“I urge you to remain conscious of the many challenges besieging the region and be sensitive to the needs of the people.”

He commended the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Dr. Sidie Tunis, for what he said was the commitment and sacrifice he was making towards promoting regional integration and strengthening democracy and good governance in our sub-region.

Buhari noted the progress that had been made by the ECOWAS Parliament since the inception of the 5th Legislature, in March 2020. 

He added: “Specifically, your contributions to the efficient and effective implementation of the objectives and policies of the Community, including the strengthening of representative democracy, have been outstanding.

“I must also commend you for the tremendous efforts you have invested in making the Parliament visible and relevant to the people of the ECOWAS region.

“I am aware that over the period of the tenure of this legislature, our people have begun to regard the Parliament as the true representative of their voice and a dependable ally.

“I, therefore, seize this opportunity to thank the Leadership and all Honourable Members for a job well-done.”

President Buhari reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to ECOWAS efforts, with the support of the nation’s partners to keep the region peaceful, secure and politically stable.

He noted that in this regard, Nigeria remains committed to supporting ECOWAS to restore democratic rule in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.

While noting that some of the countries in the region including Nigeria would be engaged in political activities in 2023, the president also expressed commitment to bequeath a legacy of free, fair and credible polls to West Africa.

Said he: “We are convinced that the sustenance of democracy and the rule of law should remain the norm in this promising region.

“As you are aware, there will be multiple political activities in some ECOWAS Member States, including Nigeria, where general elections are due to hold in February and March 2022.

“Let me seize this opportunity to reiterate my commitment to free, fair and transparent elections and smooth transitions. This is one legacy that I want my administration to bequeath, not only to Nigeria, but to the region as a whole.

“At the regional level, Sierra Leone and Liberia are also preparing for elections. As in the past, Nigeria is ready to stand by any country in the region that is committed to organising free and fair elections.”

The president expressed Nigeria’s commitment to keeping West Africa, in collaboration with all partners, peaceful, secure and politically stable, particularly seeing to it that the countries currently under military rule; Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, are successfully returned to democratic rule.

“Let me reaffirm Nigeria’s commitment to ECOWAS efforts, with the support of our Partners to keep the region peaceful, secure and politically stable. In this regard, Nigeria remains committed to supporting ECOWAS to restore democratic rule in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.

“We are convinced that the sustenance of democracy and the rule of law should remain the norm in this promising region. As you are aware, there will be multiple political activities in some ECOWAS Member States, including Nigeria, where general elections are due to hold in February and March 2022.

Reminding the legislators on the need to align their programmes to those of the founding fathers of the sub-regional body, Buhari said, “the vision of the founding fathers of ECOWAS was to have a West Africa that is integrated economically with harmonised policies, enjoying free movement of persons, goods and services, as well as seamless right to establishment.

‘‘We must continue to strive harder to attain those objectives. Let us take advantage of existing mechanisms and our enterprising population to turn our dreams into reality.

‘‘We have the capacity to do so. Let us collaborate more and remove our outdated physical and psychological boundaries and other colonially-inspired differences so our region can fully attain its full potential,’’ he said.

On the election of members of the ECOWAS Parliament by Direct Universal Suffrage, President Buhari strongly declared his support for the process, provided it was conducted with minimum or even at no cost at all, to the Community.

Explaining Nigeria’s support for the process, he noted that ECOWAS Parliament can only fulfill its true mandate when it has a set of directly elected and dedicated Members.

‘‘I believe that a membership of the ECOWAS Parliament, not drawn from serving members of Parliaments of Member States, would be a good step towards injecting our regional integration with new energy and initiative,’’ he said.  

Also speaking, the President of Guinea Bissau and Chairman of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, decried the unconstitutional takeover of government in the region.

He however, expressed ECOWAS’ commitment and determination to ensure that constitutional order is restored in Burkina Faso, Guinea and others, still under the control of military rule.

Embalo also noted that there was need to expand the economy of the region to create more wealth for community members.

Earlier in his opening speech, Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hon. Sidie Mohamed Tunis, reminded the gathering of the economic consequences of the Russian/Ukrainian war and the concomitant impact on economies and survival of families across member nations.

He appealed to members to ensure that ongoing hardships are mitigated through greater collaborations and political will.

On his part, President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, urged member-states to reinforce initiatives towards tackling threats including, terrorism and the socio-economic impacts of the Russian/ Ukrainian war, in order to attain the protracted objective of delivering shared prosperity.

He declared that the Commission critically requires strategies for which reason it had identified four strategic objectives, otherwise known as the Commission’s 4-by-4.

According to him, the initiatives include Enhanced Peace and Security; Deeper Regional Integration; Good Governance and Inclusive and Sustained Development.

Highlights of the event included the conferment of Award of Excellence for the Promotion of Democracy in the ECOWAS sub region on President Buhari and his Guinea Bissau counterpart, Embalo, by the ECOWAS Parliament.