Once upon a time, not in fairyland but in our own backyard, was a family of 15. They called themselves ECOWAS. For decades, they ate from the same bowl, traded with the same coins, and occasionally quarreled at the dining table but still managed to share pepper soup. Until one day, three siblings, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, stood up mid-meal, wiped their mouths, and walked out.
“Enough of this family meeting,” they muttered, “we’re starting our own house.” And now, the trio has slammed a 0.5% import levy on all goods entering their backyard, except humanitarian aid, of course. A modest tax on paper, but a monumental sign that the divorce is not just emotional. It’s economic, political, and spiritual.
The Calabash Cracks
This tiny tariff is loud. Like the gongon that calls the village to gather, it announces the birth of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), not just a security pact, but a wannabe economic bloc with dreams of biometric passports and joint armies. But here lies the paradox: How do you build a new house when your old one still owes you water, firewood, and ancestral land rights? ECOWAS’ Dilemma: When Your Children Walk Out With the Cooking Pot
The implications for ECOWAS are plenty, and none of them good:
Free Trade? Now by invitation only.
The spirit of open borders, once ECOWAS’ greatest hymn, has now been muted in the Sahel. Traders will now need to pay homage to new gatekeepers with levies that could turn tomatoes into luxury items.
Security? We’re Not on the Same WhatsApp Group Anymore.
With jihadists roaming the Sahel like uninvited ghosts, this is no time to play solo. Yet the AES prefers its own militia of 5,000, rather than ECOWAS joint task forces. And who can blame them? The old group offered more sanctions than solutions.
The New Union’s Purse: A Calabash or a Colander?
The 0.5% levy may fund passports and boots on the ground, but these are some of the world’s poorest nations, where one cedi (or franc) can stretch from breakfast to supper. Is the levy a ladder to self-reliance or a stone around their neck?
Democracy Deferred
Let’s not forget: these are not elected governments. They came by the gun, not the ballot. So their economic declarations carry the heavy silence of voices not heard. ECOWAS demanded elections. They offered tariffs.
And What of the People?
Ah, the people. Always the ones who feel the pinch when elephants fight or even when ants argue. The average market woman in Bamako or Niamey cares little for political blocs. All she knows is that her bag of imported rice just got costlier, and her customers are bargaining harder than ever.
A Farewell or a Pause?
Like a marriage under strain, it is too early to call this a final break. ECOWAS must decide: will it change its approach, perhaps less cane, more counsel? Or will it double down and risk watching more children exit with the family name?
In our part of the world, when a calabash cracks, elders do not scream. They call for kente, patch the break, and find out why it cracked in the first place. Perhaps ECOWAS must now act like the wise elder, less sanctions, more listening. Before the entire calabash shatters and we are left sipping soup from broken shards.
