The Executive Director of the West Africa Centre for Counter-Extremism, Mutaru Mumuni Muqthar, has called for significant support for President John Dramani Mahama in his bid to restore diplomatic ties within ECOWAS.
Speaking on Prime News on ABC News GH on Monday, he stressed the importance of goodwill and cooperation in rebuilding relationships with nations that have distanced themselves from the regional bloc.
“The President needs much support to ensure there is goodwill built with those relations to ensure intelligence sharing and coordination,” he said.
He further warned that without such efforts, “the entire region of West Africa risks disintegration if we fail to build goodwill and support from them or fail in getting them back to ECOWAS.”
Muqthar emphasized that efforts to reintegrate Burkina Faso and other Sahelian states into ECOWAS should not come at the expense of their existing alliances.
“They do not need to abandon their own group,” he clarified, referring to the Alliance of Sahelian States.
Instead, he suggested a dual membership model that allows these countries to benefit from ECOWAS while maintaining their commitments to their new alliance.
“There could still be a mechanism that allows them to still be part of ECOWAS and benefit from its membership while also holding on to their own membership as members of the Alliance of Sahelian States,” he explained.
His comments come after Mahama’s meeting with Burkina Faso’s interim leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, on March 10, 2025, where they discussed regional security and economic cooperation.
Mahama acknowledged Burkina Faso’s concerns about ECOWAS and pledged to present them at the next ECOWAS summit.
Muqthar urged leaders to act swiftly to restore trust. “We just need to build goodwill and good faith at the moment to a point where it is possible to reengage and reestablish relations with them,” he concluded.
