Urban Violence and Peacekeeping Mechanisms in West Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Four States

Introduction

No country in the world did not fall into the imaginary lines of divisions of regional groups or organizations. The organization could be economically oriented, politically oriented or socially oriented. It does not matter whether such a country joins the regional or global organization, but it does matter that there is an element of co-existence and interdependency among nations of the world. A country can be in three or more regional and global organizations, depending on the motives and agenda the state wants to achieve. Regional organizations, however, had become a veritable tool for the collective development of member states (Olawale 2015; Dwyer 2015).

Some of such are purely regional bases, such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Southern African Development Community (SADC), European Union (EU), African Union (AU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), among others. Some are global in outlooks, such as the United Nations (UN), the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the World Bank. However, it is important to emphasise that each country's foreign policies and national interests are major factors in the voluntary membership of most regional and global organizations (Iheduru 2015; Gupta 2015; Aluko and Oyedele, 2019). Most of these organizations have a specific function, moulders of such organizations tailor this function, along with the regional or global need of a prospective member nation. Such function ranges from economic function to socio-political functions.

Many states join these groups for different reasons at different times in their country’s development history. For instance, countries emerging from colonialism will seek global recognition and regional autonomy. Therefore, the first organization's point of call is the global organization, such as the United Nations. This gives them global acceptability and sovereignty, which they mostly cherish at that time. The other immediate response of such post-colonial countries is the necessity to acquire regional recognition, so the regional or sub-regional international organization membership will be most invaluable. Such organizations of interest include the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and African Union (AU), among others.

It is noteworthy to say that as the quest for development arises and more discoveries are made in the country, some other specialised international organization becomes of greater interest to such countries. The specialised organization may be in economic affiliation, cultural affinity, religious alignment and colonial solidarity. Examples of such international organizations include the Commonwealth of Nations (for former British colonial states), the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for crude oil-producing states, the World Bank and the Organization of Islamic States (OIC), among others. ECOWAS is a prominent regional organization with whole and encompassing motives for the member states, which range from Economic to Security and political developments.

The Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) is composed of fifteen (15) member states, including Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Mali, Liberia, and Ivory Coast. It was founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos. Membership language is with an equivocal tune, which cuts across the English, French and Portuguese speaking states in West Africa (Olayiwola 2014). The charter established principles of achieving “collective self-sufficiency” for its member states by creating a single large trading bloc through an economic and trading union. It also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region (Donnelly2000 and Sesay and Omotosho 2011).

Urban violence no doubt had ravaged most of the states in the world, and the ECOWAS member states have their fair share of it. This violence ranges from unhealthy political competition and rivalry among political parties and individuals to social anarchism among ethnic chauvinism, religious bigotry among religious groups, and economic fractions, which usually lead to resource control crises among fractions in the states. The major problem caused by urban violence is political instability, economic stagnation, and social imbroglios of both intrastate and interstate magnitude (Aluko 2018a; Aluko 2018b; Aluko 2019; Aluko, 2021a).