By ECOWAS Marks 50 Years
Tinubu Calls for Unity and Legacy Preservation
Summary
- President Tinubu urges West African leaders to uphold ECOWAS’s founding ideals of unity, peace, and integration.
- Calls for deeper youth and women inclusion, stronger policy implementation, and commitment to regional development.
- Emphasises Nigeria’s continued support, as ECOWAS celebrates milestone with calls for departed member states to return.
Lagos, Nigeria — As the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) marked its 50th anniversary, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on member states to preserve the vision of the bloc’s founding fathers and strengthen unity across the region.
Speaking on Wednesday at a Golden Jubilee celebration held at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos, President Tinubu, who currently serves as Chairman of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, said the time had come for leaders to deepen cooperation beyond artificial colonial borders and work towards a future of shared prosperity.
“Today, we celebrate not only five decades of history but the enduring spirit of unity, resilience, and shared destiny that defines our Community,” he said. “The work of integration is never done. Each generation must carry the flame forward.”
Paying tribute to ECOWAS pioneer and former Nigerian Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, the only surviving founding father, Tinubu acknowledged the efforts of past and present leaders in building a robust framework for regional peacekeeping, free movement, trade liberalisation, and democratic governance.
The President said that ECOWAS had made remarkable strides in overcoming colonial legacies, uniting Anglophone, Francophone, and Lusophone nations, while pioneering free movement and intra-regional trade through mechanisms such as the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme and Joint Border Posts.
He also cited ECOWAS’s peace and security interventions, its proactive stance on counterterrorism and financial crime, and its role in upholding democratic norms through institutions like the ECOWAS Parliament and Court of Justice.
However, President Tinubu stressed that more must be done to ensure that integration delivers real benefits to citizens, particularly youth and women, who form the majority of the region’s population. “Their success is the key to our future stability and prosperity,” he added.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s longstanding support for the bloc, Tinubu highlighted the country’s commitment to regional capacity building through initiatives like the Technical Aid Corps.
Also speaking at the event, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Maitama Tuggar outlined ECOWAS’s achievements, including progress in gas pipeline development, election monitoring, and the strengthening of democratic institutions.
General Yakubu Gowon expressed hope that the three countries that recently exited ECOWAS —Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso — would one day return. “Continue to be open, and don’t push them away. They will come back as individuals or as a group,” he said.
President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, described the organisation as Africa’s most enduring and active regional bloc, a sentiment echoed by several regional leaders in attendance.
The celebrations began with a symbolic re-enactment of the ECOWAS declaration at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) and were attended by Presidents Joseph Boakai of Liberia, Faure Gnassingbé of Togo, Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea Bissau, foreign ministers from several member countries, and other dignitaries.
