Obasanjo calls for common currency to boost ECOWAS trade

Kigali – Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on
Thursday called on the leaders of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to
agree on common currency to boost the
regional trade.
Obasanjo made call at the ongoing 24th Annual
General Meeting of the African Export-Import
Bank (Afreximbank) in Kigali.
He spoke on: Can Regional Economic
Communities Work for Africa: Lessons from a
Founding Father.
He said that the issue of common currency was
getting delayed because the regional leaders had
put forward “ECO” as a name for the currency
but wondered why it had not been adopted.
According to him, the currency is required to
move the current level of the regional trade from
25 per cent to more than 50 per cent.
He said the various currency zones like the
Naira zone, the Cedi zone, among others should
not be allowed to mitigate the flow of trade
within the region.
He blamed too many internal conflicts and
changes in policies, among others, as some of
the challenges facing the region.
Obasanjo, however, lauded ECOWAS countries
for their ability to resolve their issues on their
own, adding that ECOWAS on its own had
resolved conflicts in Liberia, Sierria Loene and
The Gambia.
He said that in the case of The Gambia, ECOWAS
leaders agreed that a military option should be
adopted but it should be without firing a bullet.
“I was sure the ousted president Yahya Jammeh
will leave but when he started delaying ECOWAS
leaders met, it was agreed a military option
should be adopted.
“The tactics worked and when the countries
leaders were saying the ousted president Yahya
Jammeh had left the country with huge sums of
money. I told them to allow him go with the
money so far he allows the country to remain in
peace,” he said.
He said the region had been most democratic
region going by free and fair elections done in
the countries.
He told the audience that in the region, elections
had been held without violence and wherever
there were crisis the region had resolved such
crisis peacefully.