We Were At War, But They Never Helped – Burkina Faso Leader Reveals Reason For Exiting ECOWAS

Burkina Faso’s interim leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore, has opened up on the reason the country decided to exit the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Traore stated that ECOWAS failed to support them in their fight against terrorism and failed to respect its own values by imposing sanctions.

He stated this during an interview with Cameroonian journalist, Alain Foka.

The Burkina Faso leader argued that the regional organization was created with the aim of integrating people, promoting development,  economy, solidarity and mutual aid, but the organisation had lost those values.

He lamented that Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have been at war with terrorism for a long time, but they have never received any help from ECOWAS.

He said, “Unfortunately, with the passage of time, the organization has lost these values. Today, the facts are clear. For more than a decade, Mali and Niger have been at war with terrorism. And in Burkina Faso, we’ve been at war for almost a decade. We have never received any aid from this organization.

“Moreover, ECOWAS does not respect its own rules, notably by imposing sanctions that are not included in its founding charter.

“The first to violate these texts are these so-called democrats. We’re leaving, but we remain pan-African.”

The leader went on to stress that the decision to leave was well-considered.

“It’s not out of the blue to turn your back on an organization, but it’s the result of a thorough analysis,”

“If it were a fit of anger, we would have done it a long time ago. We took the time to analyze the situation, weigh a lot of things and finally make a decision,” he added.