Developmental Religionalism, Ecowas and Security in West Africa

Abstract

Security challenges have dominated the sociopolitical landscape of developing countries especially in Africa. Several attempts have been made to address these challenges but there have been very little progress towards tackling them. Most of these security issues are common especially within regional and sub-regional blocks. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) founded in 1975 for the purpose of fostering economic cooperation and integration towards enhancing the quality of life of West African people has had to modify its original mandate to accommodate challenges to the detriment of developmental efforts. This study argues that the ideals of developmental regionalism which is a framework for enhancing the economic wellbeing of regional structures is also a veritable tool for handling security issues. It concluded that ECOWAS can employ the framework as a means of emerging from its security challenges.