Ghana’s goodwill in mending West African rift

When President John Dramani Mahama invited a coterie of African political leaders to Accra for his inauguration ceremony, many questioned the inclusion of Captain Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso in the line-up for his undemocratic accent to office.

But with the official departure of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso from ECOWAS, Ghana’s perceived act of “betrayal” may become its biggest gift towards mending ongoing regional rift.

Ghana’s security imperative

While ascertaining the President’s motivation is speculative, it would be erroneous to gauge his action with a single metric. Indeed, a slight understanding of Ghana’s security imperative can help tease out some of his considerations.

Despite the constraints of regional push for restoration of democracy in those countries, as well as Ghana’s obligation under regional and international treaties and conventions on democracy and good governance, the country’s security concerns require that Ghana maintain a friendly relationship with its northern neighbour.

Consequent to colonialism, the country’s border with Burkina Faso was arbitrarily drawn, thus dividing ethnic groups on both sides.

Of particular concern is the porous nature of this frontier and its potential to exacerbate Ghana’s domestic security problems, like the situation in Bawku.

Regardless of Burkina Faso’s type of government, Ghana cannot afford hostility with its immediate neighbour.

Therefore, the situation behoves dialogue between both sides on intelligence gathering and sharing, joint border patrols, and diplomatic exchanges to halt the spread of terrorism into Ghanaian territory.

Recent media reports of Ghanaian youth joining terrorist groups or these outfits’ use of Ghana’s territory for logistics and operational needs raises eyebrow.  

Trade, investment

In addition, trade and investment is another area the two countries are keen on expanding their relationship.

Despite occasional friction, they have shown restraint and robust commitment towards boosting their commercial dealings. 

The Burkinabes are dependent on Ghana for their import and export trade.

A 2023 data from MIT’s Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) puts Burkina Faso’s export to Ghana around $93.8m. 

Meanwhile, Ghana’s exports to the Burkinabes exceeded $574 million.

Additional findings by United Nations COMTRADE data estimated intra-regional trade between the two countries valued at $700 million. 

Considering this deep cultural, historic, and commercial ties along with the precarious security implication of extremist groups activity in the Sahel, Ghana must find a balance between its treaty obligations and its national interest.

Frankly, irrespective of democratic values, one would hardly fault President Mahama for his choice of a guest.

Regional reset

Since the early 2000s the Sahel has endured Islamist uprisings.

The ouster of Ghaddafi and the ensuing chaos in Libya engulfed the region in extremist violence from Mali to Niger and of course, Burkina Faso.

Undoubtedly, Nigeria’s decades-long fight with Boko Haram coupled with its internal security fault lines, deprived the region of its once touted “regional Policeman”.

As the insurgency spread and elected leaders seemed ill-prepared for the situation, the military stepped in to govern, thus overthrew one elected leader after the other.

Certainly, the soldiers have neither defeated the insurgents nor halted their activities. However, their populist policies and nationalist rhetoric have earned them popular support.

Furthermore, their burgeoning alliance with Russia provides an additional layer of hegemonic support.

With their formal exit from ECOWAS, signifying the climax of a process that started a year prior, West African leaders must find a solution to their schism and regional security challenges.

As it stands, there are just two options on ECOWAS’s table to address this impasse. 

Firstly, regional leaders can push for further dialogue despite the glaring rebuff of these countries to having formed their Alliance of Sahel States.

Mediation efforts by Senegalese President Diomaye Faye have so far failed to achieve any breakthrough. 

Secondly, ECOWAS can consider the division to be permanent in those countries, albeit for the meantime.

Should that happen, these rival regional bodies would have to bury their acrimony and fashion modalities to guide their interactions henceforth.

Moreover, as a regional threat, terrorism respects no border. 

Likewise, other transnational crimes plaguing the region like money laundering and drug and human trafficking.

To solve the situation with diplomacy, Ghana’s approach comes in handy. By appointing a special envoy for the Sahel region, Ghana laid the groundwork that protects its security without compromising regional goals.

The respect accorded to these leaders creates a groundswell of goodwill that can facilitate dialogue for their return or further engagement on modalities between the two distinct bodies.

Despite its seeming departure from Ghana’s democratic values, President Mahama’s decision must be viewed with the anchorage of Ghana foreign policy of non-interference.

International affairs and security pundit.
E-mail: bellomainasara88@gmail.com