By Uriel Ihotu
As the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) marked its 50th anniversary on Friday, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu delivered a compelling message to regional leaders, urging them to commit to peace, inclusive development, and youth empowerment across the sub-region.
Speaking through Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu at the Golden Jubilee celebration in Accra, President Tinubu acknowledged ECOWAS’s progress since its establishment in 1975 but warned that the region still faces significant socio-economic and political challenges.
“Despite our shared vision, too many of our citizens still live in poverty, too many of our children lack access to quality education, and too many of our youth remain unemployed or disillusioned,” Tinubu stated, calling for bold and transformative policies to reverse these trends.
As Chairperson of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Tinubu emphasized the need to put young people at the heart of the region’s future. He stressed that investment in education, skills acquisition, and innovation was critical to unlocking the full potential of West Africa’s over 400 million people.
“We must place our young, dynamic, creative, and resilient people at the center of our agenda,” he said.
The Nigerian leader also championed deeper regional integration as a driver for economic growth. While ECOWAS has established one of the continent’s most active free trade zones, Tinubu noted that much remains to be done to ensure the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) becomes a true engine for transformation.
“We must deepen our economic cooperation and support intra-regional trade to ensure that AfCFTA becomes a vehicle for genuine transformation,” he urged.
Beyond economics, Tinubu reiterated ECOWAS’s unwavering commitment to peace, democracy, and constitutional order, particularly in the wake of recent military takeovers in some member states.
He praised ECOWAS’s past peacekeeping efforts in countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia, and stressed the need to strengthen institutions that uphold the rule of law and respond to regional security threats.
“ECOWAS must continue to stand firm against unconstitutional changes in government,” he asserted.
President Tinubu further called for a reimagined ECOWAS not just as a union of states, but as a people-centered community bound by shared values, solidarity, and a common future.
“This moment calls for a renewed commitment to fostering unity and solidarity among member states,” he noted. “Let us work toward an ECOWAS that is responsive, effective, and relevant in meeting the evolving needs of our citizens.”
Concluding with a metaphor of unity, Tinubu declared, “A tree does not stand alone in the forest. Nigeria pledges to collaborate with every nation, large or small, to build an ECOWAS that is resilient to confront the challenges of our time.”
As ECOWAS celebrates its Golden Jubilee, the message from its current chair is clear: the next 50 years must be defined by cooperation, leadership, and a shared mission to build a peaceful, democratic, and prosperous West Africa.
