ECOWAS at 50: Celebrating unity as the region fragments

Africanews (in English)

ECOWAS at 50: Celebrating unity as the region fragments  Exactly 50 years ago, on May 28, 1975, fifteen West African countries agreed to establish the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS).  READ MORE : http://www.africanews.com/2025/05/28/ecowas-at-50-celebrating-unity-as-the-region-fragments  Subscribe on our Dailymotion channel and receive all the latest news from the continent.    Africanews is available in English and French.  Website : www.africanews.com  Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/africanews.channel/  Twitter : https://twitter.com/africanews

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00:00Exactly 50 years ago, on May 28, 1975, 15 West African countries agreed to establish

00:08the economic community of West African states, also known as ECOA's.

00:12The first leadership was handed to the former Liberian President William Tubman.

00:17Thanks to the profound work and call for unity by both the Togolese President Pnyasimbe Iadema

00:22and Nigerian former leader Yakubu Gowon, the union came into effect in West Africa.

00:27Both traversed the region, leading to the signing of the ECOA's Treaty in 1975 in Lagos by 50 nations.

00:34The Lagos Treaty was meant to enable the free movement of goods and people within the region.

00:40It was in 1990 that they abolished the use of personal identification cards while moving across the borders.

00:47Despite all its achievement, the journey has never been smooth.

00:51The three-nation bloc of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced last year that they were leaving the regional bloc.

00:58They then created their own security partnership known as the Alliance of Sahel States,

01:02severed military ties with the long-standing Western partners such as US and France,

01:07and turned to Russia for military support.

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