Analysis: Why ECOWAS Leaders Elected Senegal's Faye Chairman Amid Security Concerns

[00:00:01]Thanks for staying with us everyone.

[00:00:02]Let's turn attention to West Africa where Sano's president bas has been elected the new chairman of Echoas. The 46year-old was chosen at the regional blocks summit in Sierra as succeeding president Julius Madabio F takes over at a critical time for West Africa. Echoas is grappling with worsening security challenges uh democratic backsliding and strength ties with Mali Bokino Faso and Ner following the military-led government's withdrawal from the block.

[00:00:32]As chairman FI is expected to prioritize rebuilding regional cooperation, maintaining dialogue with the breakaway states and advancing reforms aimed at strengthening governance, accountability and youth participation. The election also reflects the emergence of a new generation of African leaders as a region confronts some of its most pressing political and security challenges.

[00:00:57]We're joined by former minister social gender and children's welfare Dr. Sylvia Biden joins us virtually. Uh good to have you join us >> on TVC as usual. So, President Fier is navigating a very pivotal period for the block. Um, he's coming on at a time where we've seen breakaway countries um like we mentioned in our introduction, security challenges and diplomatic rounds even within um the the Echoas region. What in your opinion I want to get your reaction first of all to his election as the Echoas chairman and then what in your opinion will be his priority responsibilities?

[00:01:37]I seem to have some problems with the sound. I did not hear what you just asked me.

[00:01:44]>> So, I was I was asking you about what you think uh would be uh President F's priority responsibilities and what you make of his election as the chairman of Ecuador's heads of government especially because he's taking taking this responsibility at a time where there's so much challenge within the region.

[00:02:04]>> Okay. Um [clears throat] I I welcome his election as the chair of ECOAS uh authority of heads of state. He is taking over interestingly from my country's own president Julius Mabio and um the last one year of ciron chairing echoas has actually set the pace for president f to come in and move forward from what I mean the groundwork that he has now inherited. What do I mean by this? In terms of integrating the West Africa sub region, President Julio Madabi outgone Echoas chairman has done fantastically well in terms of bringing the AES leaders into dialogue which is very very important. There has to be dialogue between Equas and the AES leaders that's Bokaso, Mali and Neru.

[00:02:59]But perhaps most importantly where president the senalis president is going to have to take off from is bringing Moritania back into the block because you can recall that Moritania was a founding member of Equas but in the year 2000 they left Equas and said they would want to focus more on the Arab cooperation.

[00:03:22]But with what is happening now in the Sahel region with the terrorism and the insecurity that is happening, President Julius Mab of Sri reached out to Moritania and has offered them that you have to come back to Echoas so that we can as a West Africa sub region fight against these insecurities and it looks from all indications that the pathway has been set to bring Moritania back into Echoas. So I think one of the first things that the Senegalis president is going to do is to take over from the Srielonian president's um steps that he has done to bring Moritania back into Echoas so as to strengthen the Sahel and West Africa fight against terrorism and most importantly to reopen dialogue [clears throat] where Echoas can find a way to bring the AES states back into Echoas so that we can have because when Echoas was formed initially A lot of the leadership including president of Nigeria at the time was a military leader.

[00:04:24]>> So removing allowing these military leaders to leave Echoas because they are not democratically elected I think is a it's it's not wise in the long run. So I think the sagalis president being a young man like the bkinaaso president would be able to follow in the footsteps of selon and find a way to get AES to come back into echoas and along with president madabio president f also took a lead role in mediating between echoas and the jallet states of like you mentioned malibinaaso and ninja to rebuke trust and foster dialogue. One of the things we've also noted within the region is that the regional integration is an at an all-time low with diplomatic routes between countries just speak to his experience or his ability to ensure that first of all the the uh regional trade increases and then we have more um regional integration in the block.

[00:05:22]>> I I don't I don't know what is happening if it is it's definitely not on my side.

[00:05:27]My internet [clears throat] is fast but I cannot hear you. I cannot hear you.

[00:05:31]>> Okay. So, I was speaking to the the issue around um regional integration. I was talking about how we have diplomatic routes now within between countries and then we find that um the the movement of of people within the block is also now made more difficult because of attacks you know on um citizens of other countries. And I I'm wondering his what do you think his ability and experience is in terms of being able to foster regional trade and integration?

[00:06:02]I hope you can hear me. I hear something about tariffs. I hear something about regional integration in what you're asking. And I hope I got that.

[00:06:10]>> Yes, you did.

[00:06:11]>> Um, if you can hear >> you you got that that's what you were asking about.

[00:06:16]>> Yes. But if you can hear me well, let let me let me uh put that into context.

[00:06:21]Echoas has formed something it refers to as the uh Echoas trade liberalization scheme which is supposed to integrate movements of trade traders goods within the Echoas sub region so that they don't have to pay tariffs they don't have to go through a lot of paperwork as long as it's within this the Echoas region goods should be able to move further now one of the other things that Echoas has agreed to over the this this summit that has just ended is to have something that will now be called the West Africa Integration and Investment Summit. And what that summit aims to do in collaboration with Aliko Dangote who is the chairman of the private sector uh grouping within the Echo sub region.

[00:07:09]What that summit aims to achieve in November this year is to further build on the ETLS, the the economic the equas trade liberation scheme so that the private sector can now build factories, huge factories within countries that they produce so much of these factory goods that those countries alone cannot absorb them. But because they know that the other West African countries, they can now move these produced manufactured goods across West Africa to the other countries without facing customs tariffs and other blocks on the I mean highway blocks, airport blocks and blocks. They are now aiming that this summit in November is going to find a way to make echoas sub region becomes a very attractive location for foreign direct investment to come and build massive factories that can then have these goods produced and sent out into the echoas sub region. We have someone who used to be the unido director general Dr. Alaji Dr. Kand Yunella who has been put in charge of that process by Echoas and when he was at Unido as you all know Unido the whole essence of Unido is ensuring that industrialization happens across the world. So Dr. Kandala has been now taxed by Equas to use his experience to bring in direct foreign investment so that the Equaas sub region can become a hub a manufacturing hub >> where we now supply each other. A small country like Sirillion can now have a factory that produces tomato paste that supplies the entire West Africa and the tomato paste would move across West Africa without having to pay tariffs.

[00:08:58]That's just like one example. So Dr. I I because of time apologies for but because of time because while that is that sounds good on paper as if that is going on you find that that the the youths in Africa and just again within the block feel a bit disenfranchised and feel distant from governance. Um fire is for the six. What are the expectations in terms of bringing a fresh perspective to the block and and ensuring youth inclusion?

[00:09:24]I got you where you said five is 46 and bringing a fresh perspective. I could not get the rest of the question.

[00:09:30]>> Uh the last part was talking about um ensuring youth inclusion.

[00:09:36]>> Okay. Um yes, fire obviously brings in a whole perspective of um innovation, youth innovation into the leadership of ECQAS. And in his opening speech, in his I mean his his his um inaugural speech as the chairman of Echoas over the weekend, he highlighted that extensively the role of empowering youths using the youth demography to ensure that Echoas can benefit from the large youth population that it has. So I do believe that yes, given his youthful age, he can relate more to what the youths of West Africa want and he can chart a way forward for young people in West Africa to be able to see Echoas as a platform on which they can not only dialogue with one another but a platform on which they can develop their countries and the sub region.

[00:10:32]>> Former Minister Social Gender and Children's Welfare Seron Dr. Sylvia Biden, thank you so much for your time.

[00:10:37]We look forward to speaking to you more on Echo.

[00:10:40]>> Yes. Thank you. I'm so sorry about the internet connection. Thank you.