This is the best way to understand the magic in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso: ‘These guys want the butter, the money of the butter, the milk and a kiss from the dairy woman. Recently, I was at the Dakar airport [Senegal] with a flight coming from Niamey [Niger Republic]. One Senegalese immigration officer laughed at a Nigerien passenger: “You guys left ECOWAS but your passports are still ECOWAS passports, and we don’t request a visa for you to enter Senegal.”’ – Olivier Malinur commenting on this piece.
Good People, that explains everything. So, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso are still using ECOWAS passports, even after exiting ECOWAS. This explains why nothing has affected their trades since they can travel and move around ECOWAS without any restriction. Possibly, the Port of Lome – West Africa’’s busiest port – is still moving the cargoes for the 3 countries within the ECOWAS commerce treaty and tariff system.
I truly admire the maturity ECOWAS has shown here and I apologize for my ignorance. Until this morning, my assumption was that Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger exited ECOWAS and dropped all ECOWAS rights, including the use of ECOWAS passports. So, my welfare model was that to travel into the ECOWAS region, visas would be required from their citizens. But here, ECOWAS just allowed them, and has continued to beg their leaders to return to ECOWAS. That is showing a big brother heart, and that is indeed commendable from ECOWAS. And I hope ECOWAS does not cancel those passports; this is a family issue!
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Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso: if you are still relying on ECOWAS passports, think over these issues again. Understand that if ECOWAS cancels those passports, you can imperil trade routes which have evolved over centuries, and that could be devastating. [A case: getting a Nigerian visa is not easy!] The fact that ECOWAS still allows you guys to enjoy these benefits despite the attitudes shown by the trio is something you must consider on this matter.
The Illusion of Single Currency and the Traps in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso
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