*BREAKING* >>: All Hail the Lome Declaration on Peace, Security, Stability, Fight against Terrorism & Violent Extremism
All Hail the Lome Declaration on Peace, Security, Stability, Fight against Terrorism & Violent Extremism
By E.K.Bensah Jr
ECOWAS is not known for imaginative titles for its Summits, but this title probably takes the biscuit for being the longest title of all time! In one foul sweep, the title, predictably, speaks volumes. In another sweep, it is off-putting in the quasi-Byzantine conceptions it suggests.
In his much-acclaimed "Evolution of the Diplomatic Method", British author Harold Nicholson describes the French, especially in diplomatic circles, being "intoxicated by the wine of logical expression" in all their communication.
Same can be said with the average ECOWAS Summit, where the unsung heroes in our English translators/interpreters burn the midnight oil to ensure a French expression is captured as succinctly as possible in the English. These technocrats call it "le mot juste", which signifies identifying the "right word". Suffice-to-say, this Lome declaration hints of the francophone propensity for intoxication of logical expression Nicholson spoke to back in the fifties.
Quite why one has spent an inordinate amount of time just on the title says one thing: the title remains as underwhelming as the outcome of the Summit itself!
Let's face it: Central Africa is as bedevilled by security challenges and terrorism as West Africa is. It was always going to be predictable that it would feature as a commonality between the two regions.
In 2013, the UN Office for Drugs & Crime enumerated six challenges bedevilling West Africa. These were: cocaine; methamphetamine; migrant smuggling; firearms; fraudulent medicine; and maritime piracy. With the exception of fraudulent medicine and meth, the rest have featured liberally in the Lome Declaration as challenges to be confronted by the two regions.
Although there is not an English version yet-available, Ecowas Business News research can reveal that the communique is an 8-point one, that mentions the noted risks created by the rise of security challenges, especially terrorism; arms, human, and drug trafficking; money-laundering and cyber-crime.
The Declaration also speaks to a necessity of "reinforced and effective cooperation" between ECOWAS and ECCAS "so as to better, and together, confront security challenges".
Also in the Declaration was reference to the establishment of early-warning systems at national and regional levels, including rapid responses to crises.
We understand from francophone sources online that monitored the Summit that, the two regions will meet every two years, which means the ECOWAS Summit of 2020 will focus exclusively on deepening relations between ECOWAS and ECCAS.
What the Summit lacked was a name of the successor to embattled Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe. Last week, speculation was rife in the francophone press of West Africa that Ghana may get the nod as ECOWAS Chair; today, reports on twitter suggest it could be Nigerian President Buhari.
Either way, the next Chair is expected to be an anglophone, and will certainly make for interesting times.
ENDs
Comments
Post a Comment