PARLIAMENT FOR WEST AFRICA

At the Opening of The 2002 1^st Ordinary Session of The ECOWAS Parliament

Abuja, 28 May, 2002

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this opening ceremony of the First Ordinary session of the ECOWAS Parliament for the Year 2002.

Today's opening ceremony has a double significance for me. Firstly, it is taking place just three days after the 27^th Anniversary of the founding of ECOWAS on May 25,1975, and secondly, it is taking place on the eve of Nigeria's celebration of the 3^rd Anniversary of Democracy Day on May 29.

As we gather here with over 100 Parliamentarians from nearly all the 15 member states of ECOWAS, we are collectively re-affirming that there is no alternative to the Democratic process if Africa is to achieve its full potential for peace, security and rapid socio-economic development. I say this in the full realisation that all our experiments with one-party State and military dictatorships in the past forty years, have brought our people nothing but misery, wars, conflicts and poverty. President Wade, our current chairman, is living proof that faith in the judgment of the people, through free and fair and peaceful democratic elections, is the best way forward for the long-suffering people of our continent.

Democracy is not only good for us in our individual nations, it is vital for the African integration process. The elected representatives of the people have an important role to play in ensuring that our continental efforts at achieving peace, security, stability, development and cooperation, have the full support and participation of the people. The ECOWAS Parliament will soon be followed by the Pan-African Parliament, which will become an important pillar of the African Union.

Distinguished Parliamentarians of ECOWAS, it is important to bear in mind that your work programme in the coming years will embrace not only the Treaty and the various Protocols of ECOWAS, your debates and deliberations will also involve the sub-regional aspects of the recent continental initiatives such as the CSSDCA Process (Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa) NEPAD, (New Partnership for Africa’s Development), and the African Union Project.

With regard to the ECOWAS integration programmes, it will be important for you to examine issues such as the Mechanism for the Prevention, Management and Resolution of Conflicts, the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme, the Protocols on the free movement of persons, goods and services, and ECOWAS Monetary integration programmes.

It will also be crucial for you, in collaboration with the private sector, to examine in full detail, the best ways to achieve physical integration in West Africa. Our transportation system - road, rail, sea and air, our communication system, our energy and electricity sectors, and our inter-connectivity programmes, all require the input of our elected representatives. So also are the environmental problems of desertification and water resources management.

More importantly, there are important programmes that are capable of creating jobs and drastically reducing poverty in our sub-region - programmes in Agriculture and Regional food security, in Health (HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis and other related diseases) and of course Education and human resources development. The most important assets of any nation are its human resources development. West Africa, with over 200 million people and natural resources, is well positioned to face the challenges and opportunities of the 21^st century.

As you proceed with your parliamentary session for the next week or two, I urge you to take your responsibilities seriously, in the interest of all the people of the West African sub-region, and in the higher interests of the African continent. With democracy and good governance, our hopes and aspirations for peace, security, stability and for cooperation and development in ECOWAS will be fulfilled.

Long Live ECOWAS!

Long Live African Unity!