Author: Omoniyi Joshua

AT the heart of the West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) 2025, held at the International Conference Centre in Abuja, lies a bold ambition: to significantly increase intra-regional trade within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which currently averages just $208bn annually. More than a gathering of political leaders and economic experts, WAES signals a critical turning point in the region’s economic direction—an urgent call for deeper integration, smarter collaboration, and transformative action. In his opening address, President Bola Tinubu, who was rounding up his tenure as the Chairperson of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government,…