ECOWAS' approach to Mali crisis not sustainable – Adib Saani

•Adib Sani believes ECOWAS' approach to Mail impasse is not sustainable

•ECOWAS member states held an emergency meeting in Accra on May 30 to discuss solutions to the impasse

•Mali has since been suspended from the ECOWAS regional bloc body

Security analyst, Adib Saani has described the Economic Community of West Africa States’ approach to the ongoing political impasse in Mali as one that is not sustainable.

The West African nation has been plunged into a political crisis which saw a coup d'etat occur last week, the second in nine months.

To address the situation, ECOWAS chairman, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, called for an extraordinary meeting at the end of which the heads of state decided to suspend Mali from the regional bloc and subsequently ordered the military regime to restore the transitional agreement reached in August 2020.

But Adib Saani in an interaction with GhanaWeb said the latest move by ECOWAS was one that demonstrated their lack of understanding of the Malian situation.

“As usual, I expected that an extraordinary summit will be called and coup leaders asked to hand over else, sanctions will be imposed. ECOWAS did not disappoint. Characteristic of the sub regional bloc, they once again demonstrated their lack of understanding of the Malian case.

“Usually, immediately power is handed over to a civilian authority, ECOWAS washes their hands off Mali, instead of following up to ensure that the protocol on democracy and good governance is adhered to,” he explained.

He continued, “The Supplementary Protocol was developed in 2001 as an expression of a new, collective political resolve of ECOWAS member States to take the process of preventing and resolving crises and violent conflicts forward, and to achieve peace and security through the development of democracy and good governance.

"This is possible through enhanced partnership and collaboration amongst member states towards building resilient institutional capacity to prevent coups and ensure that human securities are well catered for. Mali is so vulnerable to coups and we can only expect coup after coup in the near future, until concrete mechanisms are adopted and implemented.“

Adib Saani recommended that ECOWAS ensures peace and security within Mali as the growing threat of terrorism keeps rising.

“It is in the best interest of ECOWAS to ensure peace and security in Mali. Terrorist groups are enjoying a field day in northern Mali and could start exporting their ideologies into other countries in the sub region including Ghana. I expect the ECOWAS Chair to demonstrate more assertiveness and leadership in getting Mali, which by the way is on the brink, back on track,” he concluded.