Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama has appointed a former national security chief as envoy to the alliance formed by Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, signalling his administration's intention to mend ties with the three military-led nations.
Larry Gbevlo-Lartey has been appointed to liaise with the three-nation Alliance of Sahel States (AES) which includes Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
The presidency also said that Mahama named former minister of communication Edward Omane Boamah as defence minister.
Military coups
Emmanuel Kwesi Aning,an Accra-based security consultant, believes this appointment signals Ghana's willingness to improve its relationship with junta-led countries in the region.
Speaking to Reuters news agency on Tuesday, Aning said that the retired lieutenant colonel has "credentials and speaks a language the AES leadership understands."
He added: "His appointment is the first in Ecowas and it's an attempt to rebuild trust... and start the process of reengagement and the return of the AES to the Ecowas family."
Between 2020 and 2023, juntas seized control in a series of coups in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. All three severed military and diplomatic ties with regional allies and Western powers.
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The three countries created the alliance last July, underscoring their determination to chart a joint course outside Ecowas, the Economic Community of West African States bloc.
Diplomatic relations between Ghana and Burkina Faso broke down in 2022 after former president, Nana Akufo-Addo, alleged it had hired Russian Wagner mercenaries, saying their presence on Ghana's northern border was distressing.
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Need for strong responses
Ghana faces tough regional security problems as almost the whole West African region has become increasingly volatile.
The region has seen six successful coups and several attempted ones in the last four years, not only in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, but also in Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Benin and Sierra Leone. Since 2015, there have been at least 17 coups and attempted coups in the region.
Terrorism and insurgencies have also become visible security threats, in the Sahel, in Nigeria, and recently affecting Benin as well.
The Sahel has become the epicentre of global terrorism, as both Islamic State (Isis) and Al Qaeda have established strong footholds in the region.
Meanwhile, the geopolitical landscape is changing in West Africa, as the US, France, Russia and China are vying for influence, putting the region at the centre of cold war-style rivalries.
African security researcher Muhammad Dan Suleiman, Research Fellow at Curtin University, says Mahama is uniquely positioned to champion regional stability. "This is because he has played a pivotal role in the region over the past decade, particularly within ECOWAS," he wrote in The Conversation.
During his first term as president of Ghana from 2013 to 2017, Mahama was elected Ecowas chairman in March 2014, then his chairmanship was extended for another term in recognition of his leadership and successes.
These included the creation of a multinational task force which assisted in the reversal of the Boko Haram insurgency in 2015, and his handling of the Ebola crisis.
(with Reuters)
