A MAJOR milestone was yesterday recorded in Abuja as Ghanaian-born Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas assumed office as the Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Chambas, 51, former Ghanaian Deputy Foreign Minister, teacher and member of Ghanaian parliament, holds a 1973 Bachelors of Art of University of Ghana's Political Science and a doctorate degree from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, in 1980.
He also has a law degree from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, in 1984 and has since been admitted to practice law in Ghana and the State of Ohio.
Chambas, who has been described as a professional diplomat with remarkable negotiation skill, earned the commendation for his central role in the ECOWAS mediation efforts in Liberia which led to the agreement that ended the civil war in the country.
During the hand-over ceremony held at the ECOWAS Secretariat, Asokoro, Abuja, the outgoing executive secretary who listed the ECOMARINE, ECOAIR, the West African Gas Pipeline Project, the Ecobank as part of ECOWAS success stories in his four-year tenure, stated that the sub-region needs an uninterrupted peace and stability if integration must be achieved.
He added that within the same period, the Republic of Benin and Mali had been able to issue ECOWAS passport to their citizens, while Nigeria and Senegal are currently set to follow the same.
This move, the former secretary said, would reduce the trouble passengers to through during their cross-border trips. The ECOWAS passport, Kouyate added, is more respected than the diplomatic passport that always attract security attention because of the level of abuse that holders of such diplomatic passports had subjected them to.
Kouyate said that as much as the sub-region aspires to achieve free flow of movement among member-states, the further the need for security continues to add to the myriad of border controls which impede the much-desired integration in West Africa.
According to him: "Travel and transportation in West Africa is still a headache, even there is an all important need to liberalise the West African airspace".
Speaking at the ceremony, Chambas pledged to ensure that all protocols and agreements that have been signed are implemented to the letter.
He identified the non-implementation of protocols and agreements as the bane of ECOWAS, assuring that he will work assiduously to correct the negative trend.
He said he was convinced that during the tenure of his predecessor, Mr. Lansana Kouyate, ECOWAS witnessed dynamic and purposeful leadership, noting that Kouyate provided dedicated and committed service to the sub-region.
"I am inspired by the achievements of my predecessor. I am motivated by the interaction I have had from the staff. They have shown that they are committed to work with me to achieve my objectives," the secretary said.
He also commended Nigeria for playing a leadership role and expressed the hope that "a stable and peaceful Nigeria would continue to provide the impetus needed to move ECOWAS forward."
He stressed the need for members of the sub-region to work hard to consolidate the peace process in Sierra-Leone as well as reconciliation in Liberia.
"We must work hard to see that the peace in Liberia and the Mano River Union is maintained. We need peace in the sub-region if we are not to be left behind in the integration effort that is the vogue all over the world," Chambas said.
