Raheem Akingbolu, who participated in a recent two-day event held in Abuja to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States, writes on the need for the bloc to come with new agenda that speaks to the sub-region’s economic, political, social and security challenges.
On May 28, 1975, fifteen West African countries convened in Lagos, Nigeria, to sign what was later known as the Treaty of Lagos, signaling the formal establishment of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) with the core objective to create a unified regional market that would allow the West African nations to trade, move and develop together.
Between October 31 and November 1, 2025, African leaders, experts and leadership thinkers gathered at the ECOWAS Commission, Abuja, Nigeria as part of the activities marking the golden jubilee of arguably the most enduring regional organization in Africa investing intellectual energy immersed in embellished political will and renewed zeal to build regional cooperation and integration.