The President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, Omar Touray has declared that governance, not resources, remains Africa’s greatest wealth, urging leaders to prioritize accountability, discipline, and results if the continent must match global development trends.
“If we have to fix only one thing in Africa, that thing should be governance. You fix governance, you fix development,” he stressed during the Sahel Governance Forum. According to him, countries that began their development journey at the same level as Africa but are now far ahead share one thing in common — they got governance right. “It is not oil, gold, or diamonds that build nations. It is discipline, accountability, and a results-driven culture,” he noted.
The ECOWAS boss defended the regional body’s relevance, pointing to achievements such as visa-free movement across West Africa, the creation of a 400-million-person common market, regional electricity connectivity through the West African Power Pool, and the Lagos–Abidjan highway project linking major economies. He admitted, however, that intra-ECOWAS trade remains at only 12 percent, compared to 70 percent in Europe and 60 percent in Asia. “We need to build the capacity to produce. Market access is meaningless if we have nothing to trade,” he explained.
On the highly anticipated ECOWAS single currency, he reassured that the project is “very much alive,” with leaders committing to a 2027 launch date. Like the Euro, the “Eco” may begin as a virtual currency before circulating physically, and only member states that meet convergence criteria will adopt it at the start. “The process is on course. It is a question of political will and sound economic fundamentals,” he said.
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The ECOWAS Commission chief outlined four critical areas Africa must prioritize: peace and security through coordinated regional responses to terrorism and instability; governance with accountability and integrity at the center of leadership; deeper integration to boost trade, infrastructure, and industrial production; and human development with emphasis on education, especially for the girl child. He stressed that investing in agriculture and industrialization was vital for food security and reducing dependence on imports. At the same time, Africa must address climate change impacts driving conflicts between farmers and herders.
Acknowledging poor institutional communication, he promised ECOWAS would improve outreach, especially to young people vulnerable to misinformation and deep fakes. On concerns about the new Sahelian States Alliance, he dismissed fears of disunity. “There is no contradiction. Our strength lies not in having no problems, but in our ability to surmount them,” he stated.
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Despite global and regional challenges, he insisted that ECOWAS remains Africa’s strongest example of integration, financial autonomy, and collective progress
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