An anti-colonial demonstration against the CFA franc in Dakar, September 2017.
Seyllou/AFP via Getty Images
Several conditions must be met to ensure the successful launch and operation of a multilateral currency.
Issifou Djibo/EPA
Ecowas has a patchy track record when it comes to ensuring cooperation and security across west Africa – member states are now starting to leave.
A protester holds a placard reading ‘down with Ecowas’ during a rally in Bamako on 1 February 2024.
Ousmane Makaveli /AFP via Getty Images
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have much to lose if they cannot migrate to and from neighbouring countries in Ecowas.
A makeshift memorial for the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in August 2023.
Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images
Will the Wagner Group under new leadership uphold the ruthless modus operandi that propelled it to the spotlight in Africa?
Malians rally in support of their country’s exit from Ecowas.
Photo by Ousmane Makaveli/AFP via Getty Images
Border closures between Sahelian and coastal countries have had devastating consequences for the regional economy.
Leaders of Ecowas at a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria on 10 December 2023.
Nigerian Presidency /Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced their intention to leave Ecowas. This may be a pointer to a deeper crisis in the Sahel region.
Ecowas has struggled to handle a raft of military coups.
U.S. Army Southern Europe Photostream/Flickr
The decision by the three countries could change the dynamics of Ecowas.
Protesters in Niger’s capital Niamey hold a Russian flag and banner with images of coup leaders in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea.
AFP via Getty Images
Niger’s recent military romance with Russia could escalate tensions with France, regional allies and the European Union.
Created in 2014, the G5 Sahel security alliance is about to be dissolved after members pulled out.
Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images
Foreign powers’ interest in the Sahel is driven by its natural resources and strategic location for security and illegal migration control.
Getty Images
Regularising freer movement of people across African borders is one of the continent’s great developmental challenges.
A group of soldiers from the Niger gendarmerie at the gendarmerie school on 11 January 2023 in Niamey, Niger.
David Zorrakino/Europa Press via Getty Images
Ecowas’ threats to intervene militarily in Niger played a role in the creation of the Alliance of Sahel States, whose members have pledged to assist each other in the event of aggression.
Fulani herdsman at Kachia Grazing Reserve, Kaduna State, Nigeria, in April, 2019.
Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images
Ecowas regulations on pastoralism discourage big investment in livestock and need to be reformed in line with present day realities.
After winning a third term, Ali Bongo has been ousted as president of Gabon by a military coup.
EPA-EFE/stringer
Ali Bongo is the latest in a string of leaders to be ousted in military coups since 2020.
Chadian soldiers form part of a regional force, 2015.
Philippe Desmazes/AFP via Getty Images
Boko Haram may be the unintended beneficiary of the crisis created by the recent coup in Niger.
The coup enjoys a high degree of popular support in Niger.
EPA-EFE/Issifou Djibo
A geopolitical struggle for valuable resources such as uranium is behind the wrangling over Niger.
Niger is central to several economic and political initiatives in the Sahel.
Guenter Guni/Getty Images
Economic infrastructure that affects several African countries runs through Niger.
Nigeria-led Ecowas artillerymen land by helicopter on 10 January, 1999 in Freetown.
Jean-Philippe Ksiazek/AFP via Getty Images
The use of force to end the coup in Niger would come at great cost and cripple the regional fight against terrorism.
Niger’s coup leaders waving at a crowd of supporters in Niamey on August 6, 2023.
Balima Boureima/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A combination of Nigerian and Nigerien factors dim prospects of Ecowas military intervention in Niger.
Supporters of the military junta wave Nigerien and Russian flags at a demonstration of support for the coup.
EPA-EFE/Issifou Djibo
All eyes are on Nigeria where west African countries are discussing the possibility of military intervention to reverse the coup.
Coup leader General Abdourahamane Tchiani appearing on Niger state television to announce the takeover.
Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo
The coup in Niger has the potential to further destabilise the whole of west Africa.