Experts have warned that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) could break up, if Nigeria does not tactfully handle its concerns over the bloc’s Protocol on Free Movement of Persons.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had recently established a link between the protocol and the spate of killings by herdsmen, suggesting Nigeria might opt for a review. Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, whose state has witnessed massacres by the herders, also corroborated the view, noting that the pact was undermining internal security.
Daniel Omoweh, Professor of International Relations at Western Delta University, Oghara, and former Associate Research Professor at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), said: “There is no policy in international relations that does not have a drawback. What is important is for the member states to understand where problems are and to how to tackle them.
When you talk about the security implication, I don’t think people having freedom to move is the issue. Rather, I want to believe that if the member states do security checks adequately, they will be able to tackle these people.
According to him, “The free movement protocol of ECOWAS does not permit terrorists. So, if terrorists are infiltrating, it is not the free movement that should be scrapped. What we need to do is that each country should set up proper surveillance. Border control is not an easy business.
America has been trying to stop people, particularly criminals, from passing through Mexico to the United States, but they have not succeeded.”
Speaking further on the need to boost security at the borders, he added: “In international relations, it is said: ‘In the world of the strong, the weak also live’. How do they survive? They survive by surprise attacks. They don’t need to carry machine guns or artillery to carry out attacks.
If we have to tackle the insecurity, I don’t believe closing the borders will solve the problem. What we should find out is who the arms sellers are, because terrorists cannot operate without the supply of arms and ammunition.
Who are those selling arms to them? If you say somebody is a terrorist, it is because he has capacity to destabilise the country and his community. And that capacity is in the kind of weapon he has. Who are those producing the weapons?
Who are the buyers? These are the kinds of questions we should be asking. If we check the movement of arms, particularly these smaller weapons that you can carry with ease, it will help immensely.”
Amid fear that a review could hurt the union, former Minister of External Affairs Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi noted: “I am not advocating that we pull out of ECOWAS because of the problem posed to us by the free movement of goods, services and personnel.
Source: Guardian
