Prominent Nigerian human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has issued a scathing critique of democratic backsliding across the ECOWAS region, urging West African youth to spearhead a revolutionary push to reclaim democracy and social justice.
Speaking at a regional conference on sustainable youth participation in governance held in Accra, Ghana, Falana decried the resurgence of authoritarianism, military rule, and economic marginalisation, warning that the region’s democratic foundations are on the brink of collapse.
DEMOCRATIC REGRESSION: A REGION IN CRISIS
Falana painted a grim picture of democracy in decline, pointing to Guinea-Bissau, Togo, and the Sahel region, where constitutional order has been eroded. He cited President Umaro Sissoco Embaló’s dissolution of Guinea-Bissau’s parliament in 2023 and his continued rule beyond his February 2025 term as clear evidence of creeping autocracy.
He also condemned political dynasties, like the Gnassingbé family in Togo, which has held power since 1963. “Constitutional democracy,” he argued, has too often become a “veil for authoritarian rule.”
MILITARY TAKEOVERS AND ECOWAS INERTIA
The human rights advocate was particularly critical of the recent wave of military coups in Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. These regimes, Falana noted, have refused to transition back to civilian rule, rebuffed ECOWAS interventions, and withdrawn from the bloc altogether in early 2025.
“Military juntas are not liberators,” Falana declared. “They’ve merely swapped one master for another—trading foreign domination under the West for dependency on powers like Russia, under the guise of anti-imperialism.”
YOUTH FRUSTRATION AND DEMOCRATIC DISILLUSIONMENT
With over 60% of West Africa’s population under the age of 30, Falana stressed the critical role of youth in shaping political change. However, he warned that systemic exclusion, electoral fraud, and violent repression have led to growing disillusionment with electoral democracy.
He pointed to the grassroots momentum of movements such as Nigeria’s #EndSARS, Senegal’s Y’en a Marre, and Ghana’s #FixTheCountry, emphasizing that the youth are not apathetic—but angry.
“Where peaceful protest is met with bullets and batons, democracy becomes a distant promise,” he said, highlighting Burkina Faso, where youth idolize junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré, despite ongoing repression and forced conscription.
ECONOMIC DOMINATION AND FOREIGN DEPENDENCE
Falana did not spare international financial institutions, blaming the World Bank and IMF for enforcing neoliberal policies that have deepened poverty and underdevelopment across the region. Despite Africa’s resource wealth, Falana argued, foreign monopolies still dictate economic destiny, undermining the African Charter’s guarantee of resource sovereignty.
A BLUEPRINT FOR REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE
In a passionate conclusion, Falana called for a radical overhaul of ECOWAS into a people-centered, youth-driven, accountable institution. Among his key proposals:
- Constitutional term limit enforcement
- Youth representation quotas in legislatures
- Transnational youth coalitions to defend democracy
- Political education and institutional access for youth
- An end to ECOWAS’s tolerance for both military and civilian autocracies
“Youth agency is not a token; it is the soul of democracy,” Falana thundered. “It is time to dismantle the autocratic strongholds that have turned democracies into monarchies and militaries into messiahs.”
As West Africa grapples with democratic decay, Falana’s rallying cry presents both a warning and a blueprint: a choice between continued decline and courageous, youth-led renewal.
