Focus on ECOWAS ‘Ecowas has come a long way’ “Despite the disappointments of the past, one must accept that there has been overall
progress in Ecowas and we continue to improve every day,” says the Ecowas Commission president, Victor Gbeho (pictured below). Interview by Ejiro Barrett and Ben Asante.
Q A
As president of the Ecowas Com- mission overseeing the interest of
15 countries, do you wake up thinking something might go wrong in the re- gion, taking the case of recent develop- ments in Côte d’Ivoire, for example?
I am an optimist and so I never wake up feeling despondent about
anything that we do in the Ecowas region going wrong, and even though Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Liberia have been disappointments in the past, one must accept that there has been overall progress and we continue to improve every day. Secondly, although political, and peace and security issues are very important parts of the work we do, they are not the only work we do. We are involved in capacity building, in the integration of our economies, in renewable energy resources, in human development for the entire region, and these are working very well.
tion and to the growth of democracy in Africa?
Q A
Nigeria’s contribution to Ecowas has been phenomenal not only
because it has been our host but also be- cause it is unique in the sense that it has a foreign policy that is positive towards West Africa and Africa. Te policy is based on the traditional belief that Nigeria is a leading African country. Ni- geria has been active in African politics and has been a beacon for Africa and West Africa whenever it is challenged. Coming to Ecowas, Nigeria has
played a yeoman’s role in giving this organisation what it takes to survive. By and large, Nigeria has been the motor for Ecowas, and so we salute Nigeria for its dedication and commitment to the values and survival of Ecowas.
58 | June 2011 New African
How do you assess Nigeria’s contribution to regional integra-
Q A
How far do you think Ecowas has come?
Ecowas has come very far in the realisation of its core objectives,
but as you know these objectives are not events or ends in themselves. Today, if you look at the achievements of Ecowas, you realise that in the area of free move- ment of persons and goods, we now have what we call the Ecowas passport; we have also adopted protocols for the free movement of persons and goods in which our citizens have the right of settlement in member countries. We are currently working on a common visa for visitors coming into West Africa. Regarding energy, for example, our
current combined production in the re- gion is not enough since only 30% of the population of West Africa has access to electricity. Te generation of energy is still undeveloped. We are working on
this and we hope, in months rather than years, the situation will change rapidly.
example, don’t have total free move- ment for persons and goods in the Community.
Q A
Some 20 years ago, transportation within the region was much
under-developed but now we have nearly completed the section of the Trans-African Highway between Eastern Nigeria and Senegal, and it is possible to drive from one end to the other with the exception of some sec- tions needing more work to be done on them by the national governments. So we have indeed nearly finished the East to West road and more governments are building, within their respective countries, roads from South to North to
Tere appears to be progress in some sectors but you still, for
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