The recent exit of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger(The Alliance of Sahelian States) from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has sparked countless debates as to the core reasons for the withdrawal.
The assumed reason behind the withdrawal of the three nations is the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS and the general disagreement with the ECOWAS rhetoric.
The Alliance of Sahelian States (AES), particularly Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré, has stated the reason for their exit is that ECOWAS’ desire to integrate peoples to promote development, the economy, solidarity, mutual aid in case, Pan-Africanist virtues over time have “lost these values.”
He also adds that ” the sister republics of Mali and Niger have been at war against terrorists, and in Burkina Faso, we have been at war for nearly a decade… we have never received any help from it, no soldiers, no logistics, no compassion.”
Little attention, however, is given to the language barrier within the sub-regional organisation.
Language in the region has acted as a divisive tool and has affected cross-border movements and interactions between government officials within the bloc.
ECOWAS has a larger number of French-speaking member countries than English-speaking ones. However, the English-speaking countries within the organization hold significant sway and influence.
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger were three of the eight francophone countries in the regional bloc. The remaining countries are five anglophone countries: Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Guinea and two lusophone countries- Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau.
How the language barrier has hindered progression
Colonial legacy
The French and the British adopted different colonial styles in West Africa, which aided the countries’ subsequent governments and ruling styles. While the British adopted a more indirect approach using local power holders, the French adopted the assimilation approach.
A key colonial tactic by the French was the introduction of the CFA franc, which still circulates in eight countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. It allowed the French to maintain monetary power in its former colonies.
The French-backed forming of the West African Economic and Monetary Union(WAEMU) also allows for French monetary control.
Before the language imposition of French and English in West Africa, there was some commonality in the languages spoken in the region. The Berber and Chadic languages were spoken in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali. The Kwa, Mende and Gur language groups were spoken in Liberia, Ghana, Togo and Southwest Nigeria.
Language preferential treatment at borders
From ECOWAS’ inception to the present, the regional bloc has often prioritized economic integration and political influence over social integration.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) 2020 report, nearly 90% of the 7.4 million migrants living in Western Africa were from other countries, demonstrating the amount of people-to-people interaction. This has been encouraged by ECOWAS’ free movement of goods and services protocol that helped implement the ECOWAS passport.
Language plays a crucial role at borders during cross-border movements, and there are often clashes between border patrol officers and the traveller, depending on whether they speak English or French.
For instance, scholars from Covenant University, Nigeria: Sheriff Folarin, Oluwafunke Folarin, and Bankole Olorunyomi explain in a research article that “A French-speaking driver who drives a Nigeria-registered vehicle in Grand Popo (Benin) is treated more courteously by the security operatives at the roadblocks than an English-speaking driver who drives a Benin-registered vehicle in the same area.”
Anglophone soft power: Nigeria
There is Anglophone dominance within ECOWAS due to Nigeria’s hard and soft power, given its crude oil assets that allow it to project soft power abroad.
The creation of ECOWAS can also be attributed to Nigeria and its interests.
Nigeria’s army general and president, General Babangida, pushed ECOWAS‘ entry into the peacekeeping field during the Liberian civil war in 1990. That assertion of military dominance and Nigeria’s resources has seen Nigeria as one of the key providers of soldiers for peacekeeping missions within the region.
Overlapping memberships
ECOWAS overlaps with six other sub-regional organisations: The West African Economic and Monetary Union(WAEMU), The Mano River Union(MRU), the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), The G5 Sahel, Conseil de L’Entente and the Community of Sahel-Saharan States(CEN-SAD).
Two organisations, WAEMU and Conseil de L’Entente, are dominated by Francophone nations. WAEMU member states all exist in ECOWAS, which has caused conflicts of interest and duplication of progress, which all impede progress.
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