The ECOWAS Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Kinza Jawara-Njai, delivered a Keynote address of the 2024 Academic Conference of UMASS Boston’s John W. McCormark Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, touching on efforts by the Community to promote democracy, good governance, and development in the region.
Honoring an invitation to serve as Keynote Speaker at the University of Massachusetts-Boston’s 6th Africa Day, co-organized by UMASS-Boston, West Africa Research Association (WARA), and West Africa Research Centre (WARC) of Boston University, at its campus in Boston on Friday, April 19, 2024, she gave an overview on ECOWAS as a Regional Economic Community (REC), its normative Legal Instruments on democracy and good governance.
The Theme of the Scholarly Exchange was “Democratic Backsliding in West Africa: Contradictions, Challenges, and Difference” and therefore Ambassador Jawara-Njai focused her speech on “Why West African Democracy is on the Right Path despite Challenges.”
In showcasing gains and challenges in consolidating democracy in the Region, Amb. Jawara-Njai acknowledged present reversal in democratic trends through numbers of coup d’états and unconstitutional changes of government experienced in the region, and highlighted demarches of the Bloc to return the 4 ECOWAS countries under military rule to constitutional order.
She further highlighted that despite governance challenges in some ECOWAS states, liberal democracy continues to thrive and has been gaining grounds in West Africa, as can be seen with election successes in the 11 other ECOWAS Member States.
Amb. Jawara-Njai showcased the free, fair and credible election outcomes of the recent past in countries such as Ghana, Gambia, Benin, Nigeria, Cape Verde etc., and most recently in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Senegal.
She pointed out that the recent electoral success in Senegal clearly demonstrates signs of a maturing democratic culture and resilience in the region with marked will of citizens and strong credible functioning institutions playing key roles in not only ushering in desired democratic change, but also offering renewed hope for the future of democracy in West Africa.
Topical Research Papers on Democracy and Development in West Africa relating to the Theme of the Conference were also presented by distinguished scholars at the event.
Other Keynote Speakers were Oge Onubogu, Director, Africa Program, Woodrow Wilson Int’l Centre Washington D.C., and Gilles O. Yabi, Founder and CEO of WATHI in Senegal.
The University of Massachusetts-Boston, in recognition of ECOWAS support and contribution to the event, named its 2024 Africa Scholars Forum Democracy Award in honor of ECOWAS and African Union, and presented “The 2024 Africa Scholars Forum ECOWAS-AFRICA Union Democracy Students Award” to 2 final year doctoral candidates in the Global Governance and Human Security Program in support of dissertation research on democracy, human rights and justice in Africa.
The scholarly exchange afforded ECOWAS opportunity to exchange and showcase democratization efforts in the Region and the present positive strides and promise of democratic consolidation in West Africa.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was established when the ECOWAS Treaty was signed by 15 West African Heads of State and Government on May 28, 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria. The ECOWAS region spans an area of 5.2 million square kilometers.
The Member States are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.
Considered one of the pillars of the African Economic Community, ECOWAS was set up to promote co-operation and integration, leading to the establishment of an economic union in West Africa to raise the living standards of its peoples, and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations-among Member States, and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent.
In 2007, ECOWAS Secretariat was transformed into a Commission.
The Commission is headed by the president, assisted by a Vice president, and five commissioners, comprising experienced bureaucrats who are providing the leadership in this new orientation.
As part of this renewal process, ECOWAS is implementing critical and strategic programs that will deepen cohesion and progressively eliminate identified barriers to full integration.
In this way, the estimated 300 million citizens of the community can ultimately take ownership for the realization of the new vision of moving from an ECOWAS of States to an “ECOWAS of the People: Peace and Prosperity to All” by 2050.
