The Economic Community of West African States has solicited for the support of the media in its efforts to actualize its vision 2050.
ECOWAS set a 2050 target to achieve a fully integrated community of peoples living in a peaceful and prosperous region. With strong institutions and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, striving for inclusive and sustainable development.
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Ali Touray, on Tuesday however said the target can only be possible with the help of the media projecting the regional body’s activities and achievement even in this challenging period.
He spoke in Abuja at the opening of a two-day Strategic Engagement Workshop with Heads of government-owned television stations in West Africa organised by the ECOWAS Commission in collaboration with Media Foundation For West Africa (MFWA).
The workshop aims to strengthen the cooperation and partnership between ECOWAS, the media and critical stakeholders in fostering peace, prosperity and democracy amongst ECOWAS Member States and ultimately contribute to the vision of “ECOWAS of the Peoples: Peace and Prosperity for All.
Touray said the sub-region has achieved a great deal that is noteworthy despite the challenges bedevilling the sub-region.
Touray, who was represented by Abdullahi Abdullahi, Director of the Cabinet, office of the President of the Commission said ECOWAS needs visibility which can only be provided by the media.
He said: “Our priority today is to work together to consolidate the gains of our sub-regional integration but also to develop strategies towards attaining the objectives of our Vision 2050, which is a fully integrated community of peoples living in a peaceful and prosperous region. With strong institutions and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, striving for inclusive and sustainable development.
“Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, this is clearly the priority for ECOWAS on the eve of its 50th anniversary. However, ECOWAS cannot achieve this objective without a good and clear visibility of its ideals and achievements. This can only be done with the support of national, regional and international media.
“Unfortunately, today, we are confronted with a transformation of the media landscape into a tool for disinformation and the systematic destruction of all the gains and achievements of our institutions. Rather than contributing to freedom of expression and equal access to information, some social media are reluctantly being used these days by some individuals to disseminate fake news with the aim of brainwashing and poisoning the minds of our people. And so do we.
“These individuals are not only endangering the global progression of journalists throughout the world, but they are also contributing to jeopardizing the peace, stability and development of our member states. Thankfully, however, there are still professionals who are aware of the importance of freedom of information and the need to manage it effectively to contribute to the peace, democratic governance and the development of our region.”
“Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, today, ECOWAS needs media and civil society experts like you to contribute their expertise to better understand the reasons behind the current attacks on the organization in some media and social networks, as well as to introduce strong actions to promote the fight against disinformation with a view to ensuring responsible press freedoms in West Africa. ECOWAS equally needs your support to identify initiatives to be implemented in member states to become and highlight the organization’s achievements for the anniversary, as well as to raise awareness among our populations in order to actualize its vision of an ECOWAS for people’s peace and prosperity for all.”
He continued “Our sub-regional organization, which will soon celebrate its golden jubilee, has achieved a great deal and we need to be proud of that.
“These achievements span a wide range of areas, including the free movement of our populations, intra-community trade, development of transport and energy infrastructure, peaceful elections, governance, peace and security as well.
“As well as the establishment of food reserves and the provision of humanitarian assistance to the needy.”
Speaking at the strategic meeting, Suleiman Braimah, Executive Director of MFWA, said the citizens are expecting a lot from the community despite the challenges of disinformation, climate change amongst others.
He said: “Of course, in the midst of all this, community citizens are expecting a lot from their ECOWAS. And as expected, some are also questioning whether ECOWAS is truly serving the interest of community citizens.
“Ladies and gentlemen, as we all are aware, addressing the critical challenges of our time will require that community citizens are provided avenues and opportunities to fully participate in deliberative and governance processes. It will also require that community citizens are well informed and have access to factual information on matters of critical importance to them. “It also requires that citizens are informed and educated about the activities and impact of ECOWAS, as well as the role that they, as citizens, can play to complement the efforts of ECOWAS in addressing the challenges that confront us today.”
He however, said that could only be possible with the existence of a vibrant, free and professional media.
He therefore said the Memorandum of Understanding between ECOWAS and MFWA focus on the critical challenges of the region with the critical role of the media being central.
He said: “But doing all these will, in turn, require the existence of a vibrant, free, and professional media, as envisaged in the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, and also in the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework, as well as other statutes.”
