What Tinubu’s aim should be as ECOWAS Chairman — Expert

An international relations expert, Prof. Babafemi Badejo, has urged President Bola Tinubu, as ECOWAS Chairman, to aim at realizing good governance in West Africa and stopping externally-induced destabilization.

Badejo, a professor of Political Science and International relations at Chrisland University and former Head of Political affairs at the UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), said this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday.

NAN reports that on Sunday, Tinubu emerged Chairman of ECOWAS at the organization’s 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau.

In his speech, Tinubu said, “We will not accept coup after coup in West Africa again. Democracy is very difficult to manage, but it is the best form of government.”

Badejo said it was a welcome development that Tinubu mentioned that coups would not be accepted in West Africa again.

He, however, said the new ECOWAS chairman needs to stress that it's not just military coups but also civilian coups where people change the constitution as they like, pushing aside the aspirations of the people for change.

Badejo said that Tinubu should also focus on insecurity, development, and respect for human rights, which cannot be done without good governance.

According to him, insecurity does not stand on its own but must be looked at on the basis of what is happening at the level of development, at the level of respect for human rights, and with respect to humanitarianism in the subregion.

“Good leadership that eschews corruption is an essential part of the equation. Tinubu needs to project an image of zero tolerance for corruption in Nigeria and in the subregion.

“Nigeria cannot be an island on its own. The major starting point is ECOWAS, then into the African Union, and collectively, Africa asserts itself in the world at large,” he said.

Badejo noted that Tinubu’s new position would not stop his domestic priorities, but if anything, it should boost the domestic capacity of Nigeria if well handled with respect to trade.

He said the position was also good for Nigeria’s foreign policy because there were an additional 14 countries to work with when it came to articulating Tinubu’s position within the African Union and from there into the wider world.

“ECOWAS should be a major plank in the realization of Nigeria’s national interest.

“We must not separate the international level from the domestic level. They all dovetail into each other.

“Apart from the fact that he will soon have a minister of foreign affairs and special advisers, the president has the capacity to be formidable in ensuring that insecurity begins to be dealt with in the West African subregion.

“We’ve already committed so much money and must make sure that money is utilized in the interest of the subregion in general and Nigeria in particular.

So, I welcome BAT’s Chairmanship with the hope that he will use it well,” Badejo said.